作者：毛一炜
编辑：周志刚 责任编辑：罗志飞 翻译：彭小梅
“世纪大火”夺走了数百人无辜性命，香港仍在震惊与哀痛之中。然而在事故后的记者会上，特首李家超的第一句话却不是向市民道歉，也不是宣布启动独立调查，而是——“感谢习近平的关怀”。一句话，把一场本应追问责任、制度漏洞与公共安全的记者会，硬生生变成了向上级表忠的政治秀。他真正应该感谢的，是冲在火场、拯救生命的消防员。
李家超是谁？他是香港回归以来首位由警务系统直接晋升的行政长官，没有民意基础、没有民主授权。他的权力完全来自北京，尤其依赖习近平和中共的认可。如今的李家超，政治逻辑完全是“向上负责”，而不是“向市民负责”。灾难发生时，他首先考虑的不是民众生命安全，而是如何在中央面前表现忠诚。
香港此刻最需要的——是答案：建筑监管为何多年失效？承办商为何层层外判、责任模糊？政府为何明知楼宇安全危险，却长期坐视不管？为何一再发生类似悲剧，却没有人承担制度性责任？这些问题本应由记者会提出，由特区政府启动独立透明调查。然而李家超的记者会把“感谢中央”放在首位，真相被挤到角落，制度漏洞被掩盖，责任被抽象化。
这正是香港走到如今的根本原因：中共的谎言。几十年来，北京不断宣称“香港高度自治”“港人治港”，然而事实是：香港的自由与制度保障，被一步步蚕食。所谓“一国两制”，在中共眼里只是一个美丽谎言，是用来掩盖对香港全面掌控的幌子。李家超在记者会上不停感谢习近平、感谢共产党——试问，他究竟在感谢什么？感谢那些用虚假的承诺掩盖真相、用政治忠诚代替问责、用恐惧和压制取代自由的上级吗？
“一国两制”本应保障香港特区向市民负责，但如今却变成了笑话：特首权力不再来自选民，而完全来自中央政府的授权。李家超不需要在意香港人的死伤，也不需要回应公众的愤怒，只要上级满意，他就稳如泰山。这就是香港正在内地化的真实写照：自由消失，民主消失，问责机制消失，留下的只是政治忠诚和表演。
看看这次大火，香港政府的第一反应不是追责，不是公开真相，而是抓人、控言论、压制异议——和中国内地完全一样。谁敢批评政府？谁敢联署四大诉求？谁敢揭露制度漏洞？都会被当作威胁、被抓、被收拾。维稳成了首要任务，真相和民众安全被完全忽视。
这场火灾不仅烧毁了建筑物，更烧毁了香港的信任和制度。自由不见了，独立调查无从谈起，公众监督被封堵，而李家超在镜头前的“感谢习近平”“感谢中央”，实际上是在宣示：权力来源不是民众，而是中共。习近平和共产党做了什么？他们拿着所谓的“一国两制”承诺，掩盖制度漏洞，纵容官僚不作为，把香港变成了一个政治表忠的舞台。值得感谢吗？显然不。
真正毁灭一座城市的，不是火灾，而是一个让政治忠诚高于人民生命、让谎言高于真相的政府。香港曾经是亚洲的东方之都，曾以法治闻名。而今天，制度被蚕食，自由被剥夺，民意被压制，死难者成为政治祭品。
所有香港人——无论生者还是死者的家属——都在等一个答案：香港的政府是否还能直面真相？是否还能保护市民，而不是继续做中共的表演者？如果不敢，如果不愿，悲剧还会一再重演，而所谓“一国两制”“高度自治”，早已成为中共最荒谬、最致命的谎言。
香港自由的焚毁，是习近平和中共用谎言一步步烧掉的结果。火焰烧毁了建筑，政治烧毁了信任，制度与真相被放逐。面对这样的政府，市民的生命和权利被彻底边缘化，未来的悲剧，只能一次又一次重演。
Mao Yiwei: The Hong Kong Fire — John Lee’s Display of Loyalty and the CCP’s Lies
Author: Mao YiweiEditor: Zhou Zhigang Chief Editor: Luo Zhifei Translator: Peng Xiaomei
Abstract:After the massive fire in Hong Kong, Chief Executive John Lee opened the post-incident press conference by thanking Xi Jinping, instead of expressing condolences to the injured or gratitude to the firefighters. This shows that the Hong Kong government is gradually becoming a part of the Chinese Communist Party, while democracy and freedom are disappearing.
The “fire of the century” took hundreds of innocent lives, and Hong Kong remains in shock and grief. Yet at the press conference following the incident, the very first words of Chief Executive John Lee were not an apology to the public, nor an announcement of launching an independent investigation, but— “Thank you for Xi Jinping’s concern.” With one sentence, a press conference that should have been about demanding accountability, exposing systemic loopholes, and addressing public safety was forcibly turned into a political show of loyalty to the higher-ups. The ones he should have truly thanked were the firefighters who rushed into the blaze and saved lives.
Who is John Lee? He is the first Chief Executive since the handover to be promoted directly from the police force, with no democratic mandate and no public legitimacy. His power comes entirely from Beijing, especially from Xi Jinping and the CCP’s approval. John Lee’s political logic today is completely “accountable upward”, not “accountable to the citizens.”What Hong Kong needs most at this moment is—answers: Why has building regulation failed for so many years? Why are contractors subcontracting endlessly, creating blurred responsibility? Why did the government ignore known building safety hazards for so long? Why do similar tragedies keep happening, yet no one bears institutional responsibility? These are questions that should have been raised at the press conference and addressed by launching an independent and transparent investigation by the Hong Kong government. However, John Lee placed “thanking the central government” at the top, pushing truth to the corner, covering systemic loopholes, and abstracting responsibility.
This is exactly the fundamental reason why Hong Kong has come to where it is today:the CCP’s lies. For decades, Beijing has repeatedly claimed “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong” and “a high degree of autonomy.” But in reality, Hong Kong’s freedoms and institutional safeguards have been steadily eroded. The so-called “One Country, Two Systems,” in the eyes of the CCP, is nothing but a beautifully packaged lie, a façade masking its full control over Hong Kong. At the press conference, John Lee kept thanking Xi Jinping and the Communist Party— But what exactly was he thanking them for? For covering up the truth with false promises? For replacing accountability with political loyalty? For replacing freedom with fear and suppression?
“One Country, Two Systems” was supposed to ensure that Hong Kong officials were accountable to the people. But now it has become a joke: The Chief Executive’s power no longer comes from voters, but entirely from authorization by the central government. John Lee does not need to care about the deaths and injuries of Hong Kong people, nor respond to public anger—as long as the higher-ups are satisfied, he remains secure in his position. This is the true portrait of Hong Kong’s mainlandization: Freedom disappears; Democracy disappears; Accountability mechanisms disappear. All that remains is political loyalty and performance.
Look at this fire: The Hong Kong government’s first reaction was not to investigate responsibility, not to disclose the truth, but to arrest people, suppress speech, and silence dissent—exactly the same as in mainland China. Who dares criticize the government? Who dares co-sign four major demands? Who dares expose systemic loopholes? Anyone doing so will be treated as a threat, arrested, or punished.“Stability maintenance” becomes the top priority, while truth and public safety are completely ignored.
This fire did not only burn down a building; it burned down Hong Kong’s trust and its institutions. Freedom has vanished. Independent investigation is impossible. Public oversight is blocked. John Lee’s on-camera “Thank you to Xi Jinping” and “Thank you to the central government” was, in fact, a declaration: The source of his power is not the people, but the CCP. What have Xi Jinping and the CCP actually done?They hid systemic failures behind the so-called promises of “One Country, Two Systems,” indulged bureaucratic negligence, and turned Hong Kong into a political stage for public displays of loyalty. Is this something to be thankful for? Obviously not.
What destroys a city is not a fire, but a government that values political loyalty above human life and lies above truth. Hong Kong, once the Oriental Pearl and renowned for its rule of law, has had its institutions hollowed out, its freedoms stripped, and its public will be suppressed. The victims of the fire have become political offerings.
All Hong Kong people—both the living and the families of the dead—are waiting for an answer: Can the Hong Kong government still confront the truth? Can it still protect its citizens, instead of continuing to perform for the CCP? If it cannot, if it will not, tragedies will repeat again and again. And the supposed “One Country, Two Systems” and “high degree of autonomy” have long become the CCP’s most absurd and most lethal lies.
The destruction of Hong Kong’s freedom is the result of Xi Jinping and the CCP burning it down step by step with lies. The flames destroyed the building; politics destroyed trust. Institutions and truth were exiled. Under such a government, people’s lives and rights are pushed to the margins, and future tragedies can only continue to happen, again and again.
