Shared mission of relief and recovery after Tai Po fire
CUHK supports students, staff and the community
17 December 2025
The tragic fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, last month displaced families and destroyed homes. Yet, it also ignited a heartfelt collective response from the entire Hong Kong community. In such times of hardship, the University is making concerted efforts to support students and staff members who are affected, as well as their families. Contributions in cash and kind have poured in, as administrative colleagues, faculty and alumni lend their strength to help those in need.
Standing with our students
The University has coordinated timely support for students affected by the fire from across the campus, joined by alumni. Seven CUHK students were residents of Wang Fuk Court.
“Our officers reached out immediately to ascertain that each student was physically safe. Once this was confirmed, we checked on their mental stability closely and assessed if counselling support was needed,” Director of Student Affairs Elaine Tam tells CUHK in Focus. “We also sought to understand their family situation and whether they were already connected with social workers. We worked with them on securing temporary accommodation and, where necessary, explored transitional housing.”
A multifaceted support plan got under way with close collaboration between the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), the Registry, the Graduate School, the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, the Colleges and other professional units of the University.
Each affected student has been offered HK$20,000 in emergency funds contributed jointly by the University and their respective affiliated College, with additional help coming from donors. On top of the temporary accommodation, CUHK has also been providing mental health support and flexible academic arrangements, such as make-up examinations, assignment deadline extensions and the option to cancel enrolment for a course that has begun. Students who have expressed any counselling needs are now being supported by the OSA’s Wellness and Counselling Centre.
The OSA has assigned Learning Enhancement Officers (LEOs) to serve as primary contact points, reaching out to students not just from Wang Fuk Court, but also those who live nearby, and monitoring their needs closely. The Wellness and Counselling Centre is also running a 24-hour emotional support hotline, at 5400 2055.
Karrie Li and Anson Wong, both from the LEO team, have been keeping in touch with the affected students on a daily basis. “Our message to them is simple but sincere: you are not alone, and we stand with our students,” they say. “We take it as our highest priority and responsibility to help them walk through this difficult period, rebuild their strength and regain their direction in life.”
Mobilising support for staff
CUHK’s staff families were affected by the fire as well, prompting the Human Resources Office (HRO) to swing into action swiftly. “When we learned of the news that evening, we searched our staff records immediately to identify who lived in the affected area. Colleagues volunteered to form a core group overnight to explore all possible ways of assistance,” says Director of Human Resources Corinna Lee. “The HR team made phone calls to every affected colleague first thing the next morning to understand their status and needs, and to provide assistance up front.
“In the days that followed, colleagues continued to follow up to make sure every staff member was safely housed and supported.”
CUHK arranged for the 11 families to register for Parkwood flats in Tai Po, an interim accommodation service offered by the Henderson Land Group, to ensure a smooth relocation, possibly to the HKSAR Government’s transitional housing. Some of them have been offered the option of staying for free on campus for a few months.
Up to now, the HRO has remained in contact with these staff families. Team members are documenting the specific needs of each household and reporting them to the senior management in order to facilitate joint efforts in providing meaningful support and alleviating hardship. Various forms of assistance have been provided to the affected staff and their families, including the School of Chinese Medicine’s special health care assistance scheme for the affected community, donations of clothing from a charity fund foundation and its partner, and an ex-gratia payment of HK$20,000 sponsored by the University and the two staff and teachers’ associations.
The HRO has also extended the Employee Assistance Programme, including a 24-hour hotline providing professional counselling and consultation to the affected staff members and their dependants. “Under this programme, each case in need is followed up by experts such as counsellors and social workers,” Ms Lee says. “We believe that family is integral to staff well-being.”
The CUHK Alumni Charity Foundation lent a hand by coordinating with alumni associations across various colleges to raise funds and ensure all donations go directly to the victims.
When duty calls
Doctors, nurses and other volunteers from the CUHK community also took the initiative in the emergency response.
Dr Kevin Hung Kei-ching, who was off duty on the first night of the blaze, headed straight back to Prince of Wales Hospital, one of the receiving centres of casualties from the blaze, to see how he could help. The Associate Professor of CUHK’s Accident and Emergency Medicine Academic Unit was joined by a number of off-duty doctors from CUHK and Prince of Wales who likewise stepped up to the plate.
That night, the hospital attended to about a dozen seriously injured victims. The CUHK volunteers supported the regular A&E operations and took care of other patients so that medical workers who were on duty could render timely treatment to fire casualties.
400-strong volunteer corps
CUHK alumnus Dr Dexter Leung Yu-lung (1997/Shaw/Medicine), who is in private practice, began organising a voluntary response with colleagues on the first night of the fire. He started a messaging group to urge fellow doctors and other health professionals to join in the initiative. Within 48 hours, more than 420 had answered the call – practitioners of Western and Chinese medicine, pharmacists, occupational therapists and clinical psychologists from all over Hong Kong – many of whom were young graduates. Dr Leung coordinated a roster for the volunteers to serve at the nine government-run temporary shelters.
Dr Leung also liaised with frontline civil servants to ensure the voluntary medical support was available round the clock. Many displaced residents with chronic illnesses had lost their medication in the flames. “Some diabetic patients had no insulin and their blood sugar shot up. Others arrived with dangerously high blood pressure,” he recalls. The volunteers provided them with essential medication and also gave immediate treatment to people with other ailments, such as colds, coughs, sleeplessness and anxiety.
Professor Helen Chan Yue-lai, a member of the HKSAR Government’s Auxiliary Medical Service, took leave from CUHK’s Nethersole School of Nursing on the second day of the blaze and joined the service team heading to Wang Fuk Court.
When Professor Chan arrived, she saw firefighters carrying residents to the ground outside the burning buildings. “The sense of helplessness was hard to ignore,” she recalls, “but no one stopped. Whoever could be saved – people, cats, dogs and even tortoises – were helped down.” She provided pre-hospital emergency care and helped people who required medical assistance at the scene.
Nursing care for the displaced
The needs of Wang Fuk residents are ongoing to this day. The Nethersole School of Nursing contacted the HKSAR Government’s Primary Healthcare Commission and offered to station teams at a transitional residential block called Good House in Shuen Wan Chan Uk, Tai Po. Around 45 nurses, including professors and senior nurses, rotate to visit the site daily to provide medication management, wound care, dialysis and emotional support. The volunteer team assembled by Dr Leung also helps out on site.
Professor Chan, who is part of the nursing team, notes: “People who are suddenly displaced can feel particularly destabilised if they have chronic health conditions. There is a need to set up a long-term care plan for these patients.”
Meanwhile, the Faculty of Medicine and CUHK Medical Centre are providing three months of free psychiatric care for people who are directly affected by the fire. The service is open to both Wang Fuk residents and fire services personnel, with others closely connected to the incident assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The service team comprises 15 specialist psychiatrists and nine clinical psychologists. To date, more than 20 individuals have registered, most displaying acute stress reactions.
Meanwhile, the School of Chinese Medicine has launched a scheme to provide free outpatient services and medicine for affected Wang Fuk residents and all firefighters who may have developed respiratory symptoms from smoke or psychological symptoms such as anxiety and insomnia. School Director Professor Lin Zhixiu says: “We hope to help Wang Fuk residents and firefighters restore balance to both body and mind through personalised treatments.”
Looking ahead, Dr Hung emphasises that discharge is only the start of a journey to pick up the pieces and move on. “Residents face psychological trauma, housing difficulties and community recovery. The road ahead is long.”
He says that survival in such incidents often depends on actions taken before the patients reach the hospital. “I always encourage people to learn first aid,” he says. “It’s a skill anyone can learn, and you never know when someone nearby may need help. Once acquired, these skills stay with you for life.”
What moved Dr Leung most was the outpouring of altruism from society. “The amount of donated supplies that arrived in such a short window was astonishing – small items, large items, everything. I hope this goodwill endures.”
By Gillian Cheng and Jessica Chu
