A fierce debate has gripped Hong Kong society over "bamboo scaffolding (work platform; bamboo scaffolding)," cited as the cause of an apartment fire in Hong Kong that claimed at least 146 lives (as of 3 a.m. on the 1st).
Bamboo scaffolding is a technique that has continued for more than 1,000 years in China's traditional architectural history. It is listed as intangible cultural heritage in both Hong Kong and Macao and, as a symbol of the city, has been loved by locals and tourists.
However, as the bamboo scaffolding installed on the building's exterior wall was identified as the tinder that caused this fire disaster with the worst loss of life, bamboo scaffolding is expected to quickly disappear from Hong Kong construction sites.
Some experts and citizens said the Hong Kong government is focusing on the bamboo scaffolding to avoid responsibility for poor construction oversight. The swift announcement to phase out bamboo scaffolding also gained traction as being in line with the Chinese central government (CCP)'s push to "erase Hong Kong's distinct color."
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) and others on the 30th, Hong Kong fire authorities pointed to the bamboo scaffolding and nylon protective netting installed on the building's exterior wall, as well as styrofoam boards used as insulation, as the cause of the fire. Eric Chan, Hong Kong's chief secretary for administration, said, "Bamboo scaffolding is vulnerable to fire," and noted that the government will move quickly to replace it entirely with metal scaffolding.
However, according to the findings of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and police, the prevailing view is that the decisive factors that amplified the disaster were the substandard flammability of building materials and poor building management.
Alex Webb, a fire safety engineer at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), told the U.K.'s Independent that "a chain reaction caused by the plastic sheathing around the bamboo and highly flammable components, rather than the bamboo itself, likely triggered the fire."
Immediately after the fire, Hong Kong police arrested 11 people in total, including officials from the contractor, an engineering consultant, and scaffolding subcontractors. They face allegations of bribery, safety violations, and involuntary manslaughter.
Unlike the administrative authorities, Hong Kong's law enforcement pointed to styrofoam insulation, not bamboo, as the main culprit behind the fire's spread. Chris Tang, Hong Kong's secretary for security, said, "Highly flammable styrofoam boards illegally installed around windows sharply increased the intensity and speed of the fire's spread."
According to Reuters, residents of the apartment had already warned the responsible department since September last year that the nylon protective netting and foam boards could pose a problem in the event of a fire. Relevant Hong Kong authorities also conducted on-site inspections 16 times through Nov. this year. Despite repeated inspections, they only uncovered three safety violations and imposed a fine of 30,000 Hong Kong dollars (about 5 million won). The authorities even said in an official stance that "there is no flame-retardant standard for nylon safety nets used in construction," fueling controversy over responsibility for the fire.
As the Hong Kong government moved quickly to phase out bamboo scaffolding instead of assigning responsibility for the highly flammable styrofoam boards and poor management, Hong Kong citizens interpreted the measure as part of the Chinese central government's "strategy to dilute Hong Kong's distinct color."
Bamboo scaffolding is construction technology optimized for Hong Kong's hot, humid climate and dense urban environment. Metal scaffolding rusts easily, but bamboo is resistant to moisture. Bamboo can be installed more than six times faster than metal scaffolding, and the expense is about half. It also flexibly withstands typhoons. Chau S. Kit, Chairperson of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union (HKCIEGU), emphasized to the SCMP, "Bamboo scaffolding symbolizes the skilled techniques of Hong Kong's construction sector."
The Chinese central government and Hong Kong authorities have gradually removed traditional elements that Hong Kong once prided itself on, citing safety, efficiency, and national integration.
The dazzling neon signboards that symbolized Hong Kong cinema in the 1980s and 1990s were largely dismantled after the strengthening of the building local government ordinance in 2010 and the implementation of the illegal signboard verification system in 2013. As tens of thousands of signboards that failed safety certification were removed, Hong Kong's once-glittering night streets disappeared, replaced by LED signs little different from those in other countries.
Cantonese, which represented Hong Kong culture, is also gradually disappearing. In 1999, Hong Kong's Education Bureau decided to shift the language of instruction from Cantonese to Putonghua (Mandarin). Since then, the Chinese central government has lowered the status of Cantonese in Hong Kong to a nonstandard dialect by concentrating financial support on schools that conduct classes in Putonghua.
Bamboo scaffolding, too, had already been subject, prior to this fire, to an instruction that at least 50% of new public works contracts must mandate the use of metal scaffolding.
Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London, told the Washington Post, "It is very foolish for the Hong Kong government to blame bamboo scaffolding," and said, "It only gives the impression that the government is trying to divert attention rather than face the real cause of the fire."
Hong Kong citizens are angry over the disaster. On the 30th alone, more than 1,000 mourners gathered near the site. They demanded an independent and transparent fact-finding investigation into the government's poor safety management and suspected corruption by the contractor.
An online petition led by Hong Kong college student Miles Kwan, calling for the government to be held accountable, drew signatures from more than 10,000 citizens in just one day. Miles Kwan, who led the signatures, argued, "We must be honest that Hong Kong today is riddled with holes from the inside out," and was arrested by Hong Kong police on the 30th on charges of "incitement."
The Chinese central government is also extremely concerned that this fire disaster could spread into the kind of anti-government protests that erupted across Hong Kong in 2019. China's Ministry of State Security issued a statement warning, "If anti-China forces use this disaster to disrupt Hong Kong, they will be severely punished under the National Security Law (NSL) and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance."