The SAR government on Wednesday slammed foreign and anti-China forces for making "unfounded and slanderous remarks" on its relief work and investigations into the Tai Po fire, saying those using the disaster to maliciously stir up chaos in society are endangering national security.

In a late-night statement, a government spokesman said "Regrettably, foreign forces and anti-China and destabilising forces with ulterior motives, through disseminating fake news and false messages on the Internet, and even distributing seditious pamphlets, etc, intended to maliciously smear the rescue work, instigate social division and conflict to undermine the society's unity in taking forward the support and relief work.

"It even causes 'secondary damage' to the affected residents.

"If these acts are left unchecked, not only would they negatively impact on the relief work after the fire, they would even undermine the stability of society and endanger national security.

"We must not let our guard down against such risks", he concluded.

The spokesman said those who malign the efforts of the government and the wider community in the rescue operations and support work should be condemned, and any malicious smearing would not be tolerated.

He pointed in particular to those who commit criminal acts intended to incite hatred against the government.

"The HKSAR Government will exhaust all means to pursue and combat them, ensuring that any violation against the law will be pursued regardless of distance through decisive enforcement actions carried out in accordance with the law," he said.

The spokesman urged members of the public to unite to support victims of the tragedy and take forward support and relief work.

He said people should stay alert to those who would seek to exploit the disaster and disseminate unfounded information to incite public hatred against the government, and dissociate themselves from anti-China and destablising forces.