As Hong Kong reckons with worst fire in decades, many see echoes of 2019
Unresolved anger and mistrust from the 2019 protests have hung over the response to the deadly Tai Po fire.
![People pray as they lay flowers at a makeshift memorial near Wang Fuk Court housing estate to pay tribute to victims of the deadly fire at the housing complex, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, on Dec. 1, 2025. [Lam Yik/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/image-1764621522.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![Wong 71, reacts after claiming his wife is trapped inside Wang Fuk Court during a major fire, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China on Nov. 26, 2025. [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/image-1764176788.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
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From: NewsFeed
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Published On 21 Sep 2025
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UK delays ruling on Chinese embassy after Beijing withholds information
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Exterior view of Neptune Imperial Baths building and the wrought iron bridge that is closed for access, in Baile Herculane. [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP]
Young volunteer architects work on reconstruction site of The Countess' Promenade, and the Spring of Countess' in Baile Herculane city. [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP]
Tourists enjoy sulphurous thermal water in landscaped swimming pools restored by a group of young architects led by Oana Chirila, next to Cerna riverbed in Baile Herculane. [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP]
Partial interior view of Neptune Imperial Baths building in Baile Herculane. [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP]
Architect Oana Chirila, 31, is pictured next to a reconstruction site of The Countess' Promenade and the Spring of Countess' in Baile Herculane. [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP]
The main entrance hall of Neptune Imperial Baths building. [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP]
Exterior view of Neptune Imperial Baths building and a sign reading "Attention! Risk of collapsing" in Baile Herculane. [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP]
Initiatives like Chirila's have proliferated recently, according to Stefan Balici, president of the Romanian Order of Architects. These efforts represent "a lesson in how citizens' initiatives can intervene in heritage preservation," in a country with limited investment in monument restoration. [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP]
In 2019, young architects became involved in another spa resort, Baile Govora. Chirila acknowledged sometimes fearing that her work on the Imperial Baths is like "putting a bandage on a patient in sepsis". But Balici had no doubt about its value. Without her intervention, he said, the building would now be "a pile of rubble". [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP]
Chirila said she also found hope in those who, like herself, believed in investing in the country's heritage. "Herculane ended up like this because of corruption," she said. "But we hope that thanks to good people it will heal." [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP]
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