TNAG-2217-FCO40-3184-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1991 — Page 123

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'strong' stands or resort to inappropriately draconian measures

to demonstrate its ability to 'control' the situation. Compared

to the past, the government today is less able to maintain

composure and exude self-confidence. It tends to exhibit a siege

mentality, which leads to over-reactions at some times and to

undue secretiveness at other times. As a result, there appears to

be random shifts in the positions the government adopts,

projecting a damaging public image of indecisiveness and incompetence. A government that is widely perceived to succumb to

strong enough pressures despite its proclaimed firmness of

position is bound to sap public confidence in it.

Another indicator of the problem of 'ungovernability' is the

worsening public evaluation of the performance of the government,

and the concomitant erosion of public trust in it. To a

government that depends so much on legitimacy based upon

performance, being rated by the people as increasingly

incompetent is a very serious matter. The depreciation of the

performance ratings of the government can be easily corroborated.

In my 1982 study of four communities in Hong Kong, it was found

that the percentages of respondents who said that the

government's performance was good or average were 15.2 and 59.1

in Kwun Tong, 18.4 and 52.1 in Tuen Mun, 22 and 50.5 in Tai Hang Tung, and 15.5 and 54.4 in Sai Ying Pun. 33 In my 1985 survey of

the Kwun Tong residents, 61.2 percent of respondents agreed or

strongly agreed that the Hong Kong government was a good

government. Likewise, in my 1986 survey, 43.6 percent of