Hong Kong, 7 December (H.S.): China's national security office in Hong Kong summoned multiple foreign media outlets Saturday, excoriating their coverage of the city's deadliest blaze in nearly eight decades—a November 26 inferno at the Wang Fuk Court high-rise complex in Tai Po that claimed at least 159 lives, including one firefighter, and injured 79 others.

Officials decried reports as peddling false information, distorting government relief efforts, and fomenting social discord ahead of Sunday's Legislative Council election under Beijing's 2020 national security law, which empowers oversight of foreign entities.

The conflagration, fueled by substandard renovation materials and lapsed safety protocols like faulty fire alarms, ravaged seven towers, leaving 31 unaccounted for and prompting arrests of 15 construction-linked suspects on manslaughter charges plus three activists for sedition over accountability demands.

Public outrage echoes 2019 pro-democracy unrest, with authorities scrambling to quell backlash in this financial hub now ranking 140th on the World Press Freedom Index.

This en masse media reprimand, helmed by Chinese Ministry of State Security personnel, underscores Beijing's post-protest clampdown—shuttering liberal outlets, jailing dissidents like Jimmy Lai, whom President Donald Trump urged Xi Jinping to free—and aims to safeguard a patriots-only ballot box amid grief-stricken voter apathy risks.

Hong Kong leader John Lee vowed rigorous probes, yet critics decry suppressed scrutiny amid the tragedy's unresolved scars.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar