TNAG-1321-FCO40-1727-Future-of-Hong-Kong-opinion-polls-and-surveys-1984 — Page 92

Chapter 3: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

3.

Concerning the "transitional period" leading up to 1997, the residents generally consider that the present government should take strong measures to improve the livelihood of the people so as to strengthen the public's confidence over the future of Hong Kong. Moreover, steps should be taken to implement gradual democratization and to develop expeditiously indigenous leadership for the future government of Hong Kong.

Concerning the urgency of the measures to be taken by the government for the betterment of the livelihood of the people, the order of the priority is ranked as follows: the control of inflation, the review of wages of the workers for the maintenance of a reasonable living standard, the

implementation of a comprehensive social security system and finally the realization of the provision of a self-contained and independent housing unit per every household in Hong Kong.

4. Concerning the formulation of the

Fundamental Laws4 for post-1997 Hong Kong "also known as the Mini- Constitution"

Residents consider that the participation of the representatives of the people of Hong Kong is indispensable. Final decision should not be made without adequate consultation with Hong Kong residents. The

"Fundamental Laws" should only be adopted after a plebiscite. And thereafter no amendment should be made without the consent of the people of Hong Kong.

4Fundamental Laws also known as Mini-

Constitution: refers to the Legal Constitution of post-1997 Hong Kong as specified by the Special Administration Zones under Article 31 of the Chinese Constitution.

(1) Ideal Political Model

The aim of the first four questions on the questionaire is to collect the views of local residents on their expectation towards the future political model for Hong Kong.

The respondents were asked in the first question: "If you have the choice, which of the following will be your ideal way of Administration in Hong Kong after 1997?" The findings of the two data collection methods both revealed the following: The majority of the respondents (mail questionaires: 58.1%, interviews: 67.2%) were in favour of "Hong Kong people self- rule". 32.9% of respondents to mail questionaires and 22.9% of those interviewed favoured the continuation of British rule. Those who favoured that Hong Kong be directly administered by the People's Republic of China were far less than the former two, i.e. 1.6% from mail questionaires and 3.3% for interviews. Whereas 7.4% and 6.6% respectively were in favour of "Others" options which include: "Joint administration by China and Britain", "Joint administration by China and Hong Kong", "United Nations Affiliation" and "Independent State", etc. (Please refer to Table 1.1 for details)

The second question is "If 'Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong' model is to be implemented after 1997, would you accept it?" Based on the assumption that "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" must be implemented, the question aims at exploring the attitude of the respondents towards this situation. As shown by the data collected by the two methods, the majority would accept or partially accept the situation, either out of their own will or based on other considerations. Those who indicated "not accept" constituted 11.0% (mail questionaires) and 2.7% (interviews) of the respondents. Another 11.8% and 8.1% of the respective respondents expressed that they "do not understand what is 'Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong'". (Please refer to Table 1.2 for details.)

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