{
  "id": 17027543,
  "title": "Housing chief Winnie Ho resigns over Wang Fuk fire",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/housing-chief-winnie-ho-resigns-over-wang-fuk-fire-17027543",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-29T07:06:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "RTHK News",
    "slug": "rthk-news",
    "url": "https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1875773-20261029.htm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Chief Executive John Lee accepted the resignation of Winnie Ho as secretary for housing on Thursday, stating that she must bear political responsibility for the Wang Fuk Court fire that killed 168 people last year. At a press conference, Lee and other senior officials apologized and bowed in front of the media. Lee expressed deep sorrow as the chief executive and head of the government, offering his apologies to the victims and the public. He emphasized that while Ho did not commit personal wrongdoing, she must assume political responsibility due to her role as secretary for housing. Lee considered various factors before making his decision, including the roles of officials, the connection between their policy portfolios and the incident, the nature of the issues involved, the performance of subordinates, and the heavy workload the political team must handle in the future. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong will temporarily serve as the acting secretary for housing.",
  "summary": "Chief Executive John Lee on Thursday said he accepted the resignation of Winnie Ho as secretary for housing, saying she had to shoulder political responsibility for last year's Wang Fuk Court fire that killed 168 people. At a press conference on Thursday, Lee and other principal officials also apologised and bowed. \"As chief executive and head of the government, I am deeply saddened. On behalf of…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}