TNAG-2454-FCO40-3572-Hong-Kong-opinion-polls-1992 — Page 2

Miss Saunders

Mr Ricketts

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Reference

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OPINION POLLS

1. You will have noticed that Zhu Rongji referred to an opinion poll which "indicated that 60% of the respondents would not support important constitutional proposals that had not been put to the Chinese in advance".

2. I suspect Zhu is referring to an opinion poll reported in the Communist press in Hong Kong. The poll was conducted by two NPC members. They conducted a telephone poll with "selected respondents". the papers did not say how many people were polled or how they were selected.

3. I suspect that Zhu himself will not be aware that this poll is at best of dubious value. He may well have been told that this poll exists much in the way that NCNA report to the Chinese leadership the views of Wen Wei Po as indicative of press opinion in Hong Kong.

Rasput

RAJ Bunten

17 November 1992

pol12 CODE 18-77

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