A deadly fire in Hong Kong's Tai Po district, which killed at least 159 people and left 31 missing, has sparked an online battle over the role of bamboo scaffolding in the blaze. Photographer Elaine Li and other artists, architects, and cultural historians are defending the centuries-old craft against early news reports that implicated it, fearing it may be unfairly blamed and regulated out of existence. Officials have ordered all scaffolding mesh removed and arrested 21 people on suspicion of manslaughter, but the conversation has grown into a broader fight to protect a cultural symbol of Hong Kong's identity.
This matters because bamboo scaffolding is not only a practical construction method but a deeply rooted cultural emblem of Hong Kong, recognized as intangible cultural heritage and used in iconic projects by architects like Norman Foster and I.M. Pei. The controversy reflects a wider anxiety among Hong Kong residents about the erosion of their cultural heritage, following the fading of neon signs and government plans to phase out bamboo scaffolding. The outcome could set a precedent for how traditional crafts are preserved or regulated in the face of modern safety concerns.