Hong Kong’s development chief has likened herself to a sailor who must put her captain’s orders over her “personal wishes,” when asked by a reporter about calls for her to resign over the deadly Tai Po fire that killed 168 people last year.

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn’s comments, made during a press conference on Friday, came a day after the government announced the resignation of housing minister Winnie Ho.

Ho’s resignation was revealed on the same day a report from a government-appointed committee investigating the fire was released. The report heavily faulted the Independent Checking Unit (ICU), an inspections body that Ho’s Housing Bureau oversees, for ignoring residents’ complaints about the flame retardancy of renovation materials.

Linn conceded that the report also criticised the Buildings Department, and that the Buildings Department reports to the Development Bureau, which she leads.

When asked whether she had thought of resigning, Linn said that months ago, Chief Executive John Lee described himself during a Legislative Council meeting as a “captain” onboard a ship. By extension of the metaphor, Linn said, she was a member of Lee’s crew.

Wang Fuk Court seen in the distance on April 20, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

“As crew, it’s sometimes not about personal considerations or wishes. I must have discipline and follow the captain’s orders,” Linn said, adding that, if not, the vessel cannot “keep moving forward.”

“In response to your question, I have thought about [resigning], but sometimes it’s not about personal wishes… as one of the ship’s crew, I have a responsibility to do my job well,” she said in Cantonese.

Report reveals deficiencies

Wang Fuk Court was undergoing a large-scale renovation project at the time of the fire.

Hearings held by the independent committee found that substandard scaffolding nets were used at the site, which caused the rapid spread of the fire, and pointed to potential bid-rigging, links to competing contractors, and “rubber-stamp inspections.”

In the report released on Thursday, the committee said the Buildings Department and the ICU had “failed in their supervisory duties” to ensure the safety of the renovation work.

Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, pictured on November 29, 2025, in the aftermath of the fatal blaze. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Between the Buildings Department and the ICU, the committee found that the latter bore a larger share of responsibility as its failings spanned “both policy and operational levels.”

But the Buildings Department’s deficiencies were also highlighted. The Buildings Department is empowered to conduct audit checks on the ICU, but it had never done so, according to the report.

The Buildings Department is meant to review certificates to ensure that scaffolding nets meet fire safety requirements, but “systematic verification” came only after the fire – and the Buildings Department discovered “fraudulent certificates across multiple buildings, leading to nets being ordered to be removed from some 230 private buildings.”

On Thursday, survivors of the fire said top officials’ apology felt insincere and questioned why only one minister had stepped down when the committee had also faulted other departments. Besides the ICU and the Buildings Department, the Fire Services Department and the Labour Department were also named.