Satisfaction of the annual Policy Address is at a record low since the handover in 1997, according to poll results released on Thursday.
In the latest results from the University of Hong Kong’s Public Opinion Programme (HKUPOP), 19 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the 2016 Policy Address while 39 percent said they were not. This gives a net satisfaction rate of negative 20 percent, which is lower than the second-lowest negative 14 percent of former Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa’s Policy Address in 1998.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying delivered his final Policy Address of his term on Wednesday. The focuses of the address included Beijing’s One Belt One Road initiative and the development of the high-tech industry.
The One Belt, One Road development strategy was unveiled by Chinese president Xi Jinping in 2013. It involves rejuvenating a land-based “silk road”, in tandem with a new “maritime silk road”, as part of an effort to increase China’s role on the world stage, increase its exports and connect countries across Eurasia.
Leung’s support rating dropped 0.5 points to 37 after the address. It is the lowest since he took office in 2012. His net approval rating has also dropped from negative 44 percent to negative 54.
The survey also revealed that 16 percent of respondents said their confidence in the future of Hong Kong had increased while 44 percent said their confidence dropped. This resulted in a net effect on confidence of negative 27 percent – another record low since the handover.
“Further analysis shows that the younger the respondents, the more dissatisfied they are with this fourth address by CE CY Leung… [they] give lower ratings to the address and CE, show stronger opposition against him as CE, and their confidence in Hong Kong is more likely to have decreased because of the address,” Research Manager of HKUPOP Frank Lee said.
HKUPOP interviewed 608 people on Wednesday from 1pm to 2pm on phone. The sampling error of all percentages was +/-4 percentage points at 95 percent confidence level.
