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views had already been reflected in the media or by the organizations or groups to which they belonged or had access. Statements that the draft agreement could not be altered were also described as a disincentive to written response.
2.22 There were suggestions that fear of disclosure of personal particu- lars was a deterrent factor. The volume and content of response from individual members of the public before and after the Government's announcement that individual letters would be destroyed showed no change. It is, therefore, not possible to draw any meaningful conclusion about the significance of confidentiality as a deterrent factor.
(E) Opinion Surveys
2.23 The Office was aware of 23 opinion surveys. The methodology used varied from household surveys, telephone surveys, self-administered questionnaire surveys to street polls. The sample size ranged from 56 to 6,124 and about 25,000 people were interviewed. The trend of opinion from these surveys is illustrated in Appendix VIII.
Summary
2.24 In accordance with the classifications by main source, the pattern of response to the draft agreement during the consultation period is indicated on page 16.
2.25 As stated in paragraph 2.8 it is difficult to judge what constitutes a good response in the circumstances of this unique exercise. It has not been possible to determine the extent to which the perception that the draft agreement could not be altered affected overall response. Similarly, although assurances were given by the Secretary of State that the views expressed on all points of the draft agreement would be of value to the British Parliament and in the continuing discussions between Britain and China, particularly in the Joint Liaison Group, it is not possible to say whether these assurances have affected response.
2.26 The volume of response to the White Paper far exceeded that to previous major consultative documents as illustrated below:-
Subject
(1) 1980 Green Paper on a pattern of District
Administration in Hong Kong
...
(2) Review of Education Policy 1983
Total number of direct submissions received from individuals and organizations
150
176
...
364
2,494
(3) Green Paper on the Further Development of
Representative Government 1984 ...
(4) The White Paper on the Draft Agreement 1984
3159803
15
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