White flowers at makeshift shrines and messages of support posted in a public square. A rainbow of folded paper cranes. Boxes of donated goods for the those in need. Hongkongers' responses to the Tai Po fire disaster in which at least 159 people have died and 31 are still unaccounted for have, on the surface, resembled similar community expressions of solidarity last seen during the 2019 protests.
Tensions are running high in Hong Kong over last week's massive apartment fire in the city's Tai Po district. The blaze killed at least 156 people, with the death toll expected to grow as authorities continue to comb through the burned-out buildings. The fireat the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex broke out as buildings were being renovated. It eventually spread to seven out of eight apartment towers in the complex.