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SHOULD BE MR. PATTEN'S HIGHEST PRIORITY.
5. THE ORIENTAL DAILY ARTICLE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN AS A
RESPONSE TO THE RESULTS OF THE SUNDAY MORNING POST SURVEY AND MARTIN LEE'S REACTION TO IT. THE AUTHOR CONCLUDED QUOTE MR.
MARTIN LEE HAS URGED MR. PATTEN TO NEGOTIATE WITH CHINA FOR MORE
DIRECTLY ELECTED SEATS IN THE 1995 LEGCO. BUT ACCORDING TO THE OPINION POLLS, THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG ARE GENERALLY UNINTERESTED IN THESE HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL ISSUES UNQUOTE.
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6. ON MAY 7 THREE CHINESE LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS (HK DAILY NEWS: WAH KIU YAT PO AND THE EXPRESS) PUBLISHED THE RESULTS OF AN
OPINION POLL WHICH CANVASSED 676 PEOPLE BETWEEN 30 APRIL AND 2
MAY. RESPONDENTS WERE ASKED WHICH THREE ISSUES CONCERNED THEM MOST. ALMOST 50 PER CENT SAID SOCIAL PROBLEMS, 39 PER CENT SAID ECONOMIC ISSUES AND 12 PER CENT MENTIONED POLITICAL ISSUES. THE
ARTICLES REPORTING THESE FINDINGS ALL DREW THE CONCLUSION THAT
DESPITE THE ATTENTION GIVEN BY THE MEDIA TO THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE PACE OF DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT, THE GENERAL PUBLIC REMAINS PRIMARILY CONCERNED ABOUT SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES AS LAW AND
ORDER AND INFLATION.
7. WE HAVE BEEN CONDUCTING OUR OWN TELEPHONE OPINION POLLS EVERY FOUR MONTHS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. THE RESULTS, WHICH ARE NOT PUBLISHED, TEND TO SUPPORT THE BROAD CONCLUSIONS OF THE POLLS REPORTED IN THE CHINESE LANGUAGE PRESS. RESPONDENTS ARE ASKED THE QUESTION QUOTE WHAT CAN BE GOVERNMENT DO TO BOOST PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG UNQUOTE. THOSE SUGGESTING A
FASTER PACE OF DEMOCRACY HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN A SMALL MINORITY OF THE SAMPLE. IN SEPTEMBER 1991, 6 PER CENT GAVE THIS ANSWER, IN NOVEMBER 1991 THE FIGURE DECLINED TO 4 PER CENT AND IN JANUARY
AND MARCH 1992 IT WAS JUST 2 PER CENT.
COMMENT
8.
IT IS OF COURSE DIFFICULT TO BE CONFIDENT ABOUT OPINION
POLLS WHEN THEIR METHODOLOGY IS NOT FULLY DESCRIBED AND WHEN THE RESULTS ARE PROVIDED ONLY IN SUMMARY FORM. NONETHELESS, THE GENERAL PATTERN HAS BEEN CLEAR FOR SOME TIME. THE PRIORITIES FOR
MOST HONG KONG PEOPLE ARE ECONOMIC ISSUES SUCH AS INFLATION AND SOCIAL CONCERNS SUCH AS LAW AND ORDER. GREATER DEMOCRACY TENDS TO COME WELL DOWN THE LIST. SEEN IN THIS CONTEXT, THE SUNDAY MORNING POST RESULT IS THE ODD ONE OUT. THIS IS NOT TO DISMISS IT, BUT SIMPLY TO NOTE THAT THE RESULT SHOULD BE TREATED WITH CAUTION.
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