The Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design
HKIUD Statement on Resignation of Secretary for Housing
The Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design noted that Ms Winnie Ho, former Secretary for Housing, tendered her resignation to the Chief Executive on 28 October. The Institute is deeply saddened that one of the most sincere and best-performing Secretaries of the current Government has found it necessary to step down, shouldering the political responsibility for the fire tragedy in Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po in 2025.
2. Yet, HKIUD admires the courage that the former Secretary of Housing has demonstrated in shouldering the political responsibility. Ever since she became the Secretary for Housing, she worked hard and had done so much to address the critical affordable housing issue by providing more public housing for Hong Kong people.
3. During her four-year tenure, the former Secretary’s achievements were numerous and self-evident: shortening the waiting time for public rental housing; orderly replacement of substandard subdivided units; improving the quality of public housing; the Well-being Design Guideline for Hong Kong and setting out a practicable timetable for addressing not only Hong Kong’s public housing shortage but also improving the quality of public housing in the longer term. These achievements will undoubtedly continue to benefit countless members of the public for many years to come. While her stepping down is a huge loss to Hong Kong, she has shown how someone who will take her position next should deliver to continue to solve the critical affordable housing issue in Hong Kong. We thank her for all the effort and care she took to ensure the provision of affordable public housing to a great number of people in Hong Kong. Being a sincere and compassionate person, she always strived to do her best for the people of Hong Kong.
4. The Institute wishes Ms Winnie Ho all the best and we hope she will still continue to contribute to society through her professional expertise in various other capacities even after stepping down from office.
5. The commitment of the Chief Executive on comprehensive reforms so that similar tragedies will never happen again is commendable. HKIUD trusts that the Government, under the leadership of the Chief Executive, would learn from this painful experience, and carry out thorough reform of past failures. HKIUD supports the introduction of legislation to criminalise bid-rigging, as well as reforming how engineering and renovation contractors are supervised. The Institute supports the setting up of a high-level steering committee led by the Chief Secretary to track the progress of reforms. However, HKIUD urges the Government to make it a priority to come up with a new institutional framework, specific codes and stringent regulatory regimes for major renovation work, and undertake proper checks and balances to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies in Hong Kong and enable the affected residents to find closure sooner than later.
6. In conclusion, the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design once again expresses its sincere gratitude to former Secretary Winnie Ho for all her selfless contributions to society over the past four years and for her continued support and guidance to the Institute.
Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design
31 October 2026