Hong Kong arrests commentator, summons international media over deadly fire

New York, December 8, 2025—Chinese and Hong Kong authorities must immediately stop harassing journalists, release news commentator Wong Kwok-ngon, and allow the media to freely cover the city’s most deadly fire in decades, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.

In a rare move, Beijing’s national security arm in Hong Kong, the Office for Safeguarding National Security, summoned international journalists on December 6 to warn them against spreading false information and “crossing red lines,” following critical coverage of the apartment complex fire that killed at least 159 people.

Foreign media including Agence France-Presse, the Financial Times, The New York Times, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal were told there would be tolerance for “trouble making,” according to those news organizations and media reports. The officials did not give specific examples of the supposedly problematic coverage or take questions, the reports said.

On the same day, national security police confirmed they had arrested Wong, a columnist and commentator who publishes under the name Wong On-yin. Police accused him of posting videos about the official response to the fire with “seditious” intent to provoke “hatred” toward the government.

“The escalation in intimidation to silence the media is appalling and unacceptable,” said CPJ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi. “It is shameful that authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong are using national security as a pretext to harass journalists and to silence calls for accountability when the people of Hong Kong are mourning a tragedy.”

Wong’s commentary has been published by several news outlets, including the now-defunct Apple Daily that was founded by imprisoned publisher Jimmy Lai. He also runs a current affairs YouTube channel and previously hosted news programs on local radio.

Police summoned Wong on December 2 over his commentary about the fire and plans to hold a press conference demanding accountability. The next day, he uploaded a one-hour video — that has now been removed — to his YouTube channel detailing his questioning by police. Police said the video had prejudiced a national security probe.

China consistently ranks as the world’s worst jailer of journalists, with at least 50 behind bars, according to CPJ’s latest research.

The Hong Kong police did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.