Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung speaks at a press conference on Friday. Photo: Screenshot from a video footage attached to a report by RTHK

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Friday elaborated on further measures to crack down on bid rigging in building maintenance projects, including proposed criminal penalties and a joint law enforcement task force, as authorities continued to advance systemic reforms following the release of an independent committee report on the deadly fire in Wang Fuk Court, which claimed 168 lives in November 2025.

At a press conference on Friday, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said the government would tackle bid rigging and related criminal activities through legislative amendments, coordinated law enforcement and frontline prevention. The measures aim to plug loopholes and comprehensively combat criminal activities associated with building maintenance projects, according to RTHK.

Tang said he would lead a cross-departmental task force comprising the Hong Kong Police Force, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Competition Commission. The task force will strengthen intelligence sharing, joint operations and risk warnings. Officials will also attend owners' corporation meetings at buildings identified as high risk to detect potential bid-rigging activities at an earlier stage, RTHK reported.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau said the government would introduce stronger and more targeted legal measures against serious anticompetitive conduct in building maintenance tenders. 

The proposed reforms include criminalizing serious bid rigging activities and strengthening the civil enforcement regime. Authorities aim to secure passage of the relevant legislative amendments by April 2027, according to RTHK.

Both Tang and Yau apologized to the victims and the public as members of the government's political accountability team. Tang said he would continue to fulfill his duties in accordance with HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee's decisions and work toward implementing the reforms.

The measures followed the publication of the independent committee's report on Thursday, which put forward 120 recommendations to address regulatory shortcomings and systemic problems exposed by the tragedy. The government also announced plans to replace the Housing Bureau's Independent Checking Unit (ICU) with a new Public Housing Building Control Unit, adopting a project-based workflow. 

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn on Friday said the government would set up a new council by the end of the year to help homeowners through the full cycle of building repairs - offering a paid service to handle tendering and evaluation on their behalf, according to RTHK.

The reform efforts are accompanied by ongoing accountability investigations. Hong Kong's major political groups expressed support for the recommendations in the report on Thursday, saying they hoped the proposed measures would be fully implemented to plug institutional loopholes, strengthen regulatory effectiveness and prevent similar tragedies from happening again. They also called on all sectors of society to support the HKSAR government's implementation of the reform measures.

For instance, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) expressed support for the HKSAR government in introducing measures in line with the report's recommendations, including further steps to crack down on bid-rigging in building maintenance projects, enhance fire safety, strengthen project supervision and improve support services.

Global Times