In meeting with wire agencies and other outlets, national security office says reports on fire relief efforts and Legco poll must adhere to law.

Beijing’s national security office in Hong Kong has met representatives from foreign media outlets in the city and warned them against crossing “red lines”, following reports it said smeared the government’s fire relief efforts and attacked the Legislative Council election.

According to sources, foreign media outlets that were requested to attend the meeting included Agence France-Presse, the Financial Times, The New York Times and Associated Press. Bloomberg News reported it also attended.

The media representatives were sternly cautioned, with an official saying: “Don’t say I didn’t warn you in advance” – a phrase often used by Beijing to signal a serious warning.

It was the first time the Office for Safeguarding National Security had openly requested journalists from overseas media in Hong Kong to attend a meeting.

The move came just days after the office warned people against using the disaster to “plunge Hong Kong back into the chaos” of 2019, when massive demonstrations challenged Beijing and triggered a political crisis.

During the meeting, the office also warned foreign media outlets against crossing “red lines”, stressing it would not tolerate “anti-China” elements taking advantage of the disaster to disrupt Hong Kong.

“[The office] requested some heads of foreign news organisations and journalists in Hong Kong to attend talks regarding the recent false information and smear campaigns surrounding the Wang Fuk Court fire and the Legislative Council election,” it said in a statement released afterwards.

The office accused foreign media of “disregarding the facts and spreading false information” in their reports, “distorting and smearing the government’s relief work”, and “attacking and interfering with the Legco election”.

It also criticised reports for “inciting social division and confrontation” and “undermining the atmosphere of solidarity”, saying they had “hurt the feelings of Hong Kong people” and “misled the international community”.

“[The office] expressed serious concern about this,” the statement said.

The statement did not name any media organisations or specify any articles believed to have contained unfounded remarks or malicious attacks.

According to an AFP report published after the meeting, an official read out a statement to the media representatives without giving specific examples of coverage that the office had taken issue with, and did not take any questions.

But it warned: “[The outlets] are urged to cherish their rights, act prudently and not cross legal red lines.”

It added: “There will be absolutely no tolerance for the actions of all anti-China and pro-chaos elements who seek to take advantage of the disaster to disrupt Hong Kong. And don’t say you were not warned.”

At the same time, the office said it respected and protected the legal rights of foreign media reporters in the city and would continue to provide them with the necessary help for their reporting.

The fire that tore through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po on November 26 killed at least 159 people. The blaze engulfed seven high-rise blocks and took nearly two days to extinguish.

The city remains shrouded in grief as the search for answers continues.

Some have called for a statutory commission to be established to investigate the incident, while others have urged greater transparency and accountability.

In Saturday’s statement, the national security office warned foreign media outlets not to use press freedom as a pretext to interfere in mainland China or Hong Kong’s internal affairs.

It stressed that overseas journalists in the city had a legal obligation to abide by Hong Kong national security laws and “strictly follow the government’s regulations on news reporting and strictly adhere to journalistic ethics”. They must not “fabricate or disseminate false information”, it said.

The office said it would “continue to closely monitor relevant media reports”.

Hong Kong residents enjoy freedom of the press and freedom of speech under the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights, but authorities have previously warned that such rights are not absolute.

At a Constitution Day seminar on Thursday, Liu Guangyuan, deputy director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, accused “people with ulterior motives” of spreading lies and deliberately stoking division in an attempt to create chaos in the wake of the disaster.

Liu praised the government for its handling of the Tai Po fire and expressed support for its decision to proceed with the Legco poll on Sunday, as scheduled.

On Wednesday, the Hong Kong government also issued a statement condemning “anti-China forces” for making “unfounded and slanderous remarks” about its relief work and investigation into the fire. It said those using the disaster to maliciously stir up social chaos were endangering national security.

“If these acts are left unchecked, not only would they negatively impact the relief work after the fire, they would even undermine the stability of society and endanger national security. We must not let our guard down against such risks,” a government spokesman said.

Republished from SCMP.com, 6 December, 2025