Sixty percent back NPCSC 2007 universal suffrage ruling

HONG KONG: The constitutional reform plans proposed by the SAR government have won the overall support of 50.8 percent of Hong Kong's citizens, while 30.6 percent oppose them, a survey has found.

The opinion poll, conducted by the Panel on Constitutional Reforms of the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of the Chinese University, also found that 40.3 percent of the respondents believe the government's proposal is "a step forward in Hong Kong's democratization", while only fewer than 30 percent of them think it is "democratic regression".

"We found that the citizens' views are divided, but there are still mainstream opinions in the survey. The citizens believe the plans are progressive, which is different from what the pan-democratic parities claimed," said Chan Kin-man, associate professor of the Department of Sociology at the Chinese University.

Hong Kong citizens' views on the resignation proposed by the opposition camp is also clear. About 57 percent of them oppose the action, while only 28 percent agree with it.

"The community's attitude on the resignation plan is clear. In addition, there are different views within the pan-democratic parties. The resignation and 'referendum' may turn out badly for them," said Wong Chack-kie, associate director of the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of the Chinese University.

The National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) ruled in 2007 that universal suffrage cannot be implemented in 2012. However, the 2017 Chief Executive and the 2020 Legislative Council can be elected through universal suffrage. The survey found that nearly 60 percent of the respondents accept the ruling of the NPCSC.

About two thirds of respondents support the government's proposal to increase the number of members of the election committee from 800 to 1,200, significantly higher than the 25.1 percent who are against it.

As for views on the methods for forming the Legislative Council in 2012, most respondents (73.8 percent) are in favor of adding five more geographical constituency seats. Meanwhile, more than half of the respondents (56.7 percent) agree with adding five new functional seats returned among elected District Council members.

The citizens' views on the functional constituencies (FCs) are divided. About 45 percent of the respondents agree to retain the FCs. "There is a certain degree of popular support for retaining the FCs," Wong noted.

"What the citizens really want is the steady development of Hong Kong society," said another panel member Ho Wing-him.

The survey was conducted from last December 22-30. A total of 1,007 respondents aged 18 or above were interviewed.

(HK Edition 01/08/2010 page1)