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see that point of view. We may also succeed in winning over more of the business sector's more thoughtful members in the weeks ahead. My Policy Address contains a great deal of reassurance for the business community (particularly a detailed account of the solid working relations we have with the mainland government, just as much as in business). In addition, I will announce a number of initiatives to deepen our ability to work with the PRC and to enhance cross border links.
11. We are also benefiting because even my more extreme and vocal business opponents overplayed their hand in the past. They are perceived by the public to have misread the situation at the end of Last year, when they warned of the damage that would be done to the economy by a political dispute with the CPG. This did not materialise. The CPG's own recent problems with economic management (inflation, in particular) have also helped HKG's credibility. An academic opinion survey conducted in the Late summer found that 57 per cent of respondents were satisfied with HKG'S performance, compared with only 26 per cent who gave a similar rating to the CPG. (Significantly, the CPG's rating had dropped 9 per cent over the previous six months.) Nevertheless, the business community continues to provide an ongoing source of Peking supporters. Many are actively involved in the Preparatory Working Committee. (We have already had to reject a request for involvement in budget planning.)
THE POST 1997 OUTLOOK: STILL CONFIDENT
12. A poll this summer found that only 39 per cent of respondents supported the transfer of Hong Kong to PRC sovereignty. However, this proportion has grown over the last two years. Despite the constitutional difficulties, Hong Kong is coming to terms with considerable realism with its future as a PRC Special Administrative Region. A majority, for example, appear to be encouraged by the CPG's decision to involve itself more closely in the territory's affairs through the creation of the Preparatory Working Committee. The SCMP's latest confidence index has risen to 93 points (on a par with the same period
par with the same period last year). A Standard poll published on 30 August showed that 70 per cent of respondents were optimistic that their life style would not change after 1997.
(The Standard compared this result with a 1991 poll which showed that 59 per cent then expected less personal freedom of expression after 1997).
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