Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s popularity rating has dropped to a record low of 20.2 points out of 100, a recent public opinion survey has found.
The rating is the lowest among any post-colonial chief executive, according to the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (HKPORI), the crowdfunded successor to the University of Hong Kong’s Public Opinion Programme. The institute interviewed 1,038 people between October 17 and 23 over the phone.
Only 11 per cent of respondents said they would support Lam as the chief executive if they had a right to vote, representing a drop of three per cent from the last survey conducted in early October, whilst 82 per cent said they would not support her, representing an increase of three per cent – a record low.
Since June, Hong Kong has seen large-scale protests against the now-withdrawn extradition bill which would have enabled extraditions to China. After 21 weeks, they have evolved into a wider movement calling for democracy, with sometimes violent displays of dissent over alleged Beijing’s encroachment and police brutality.
Lam’s popularity has declined rapidly since the start of the protests, according to the HKPORI.
The survey also asked respondents if they were satisfied with the performance of the Hong Kong government. Ten per cent said they were satisfied, but 79 per cent said they were not.
Robert Chung, director of the HKPORI, said the political situation was dire as the ratings dropped to record low yet again.
“I can’t find the right words to describe it anymore,” Chung said.
The survey also asked respondents to list ten lawmakers that they were most familiar with. The top five were pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo, Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan, pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho, Democratic Party lawmaker Roy Kwong, and DAB party leader Starry Lee.
The institute also conducted a survey about Hong Kong independence following a public crowdfunding campaign.
The results showed that 11 per cent supported Hong Kong independence and 83 per cent did not.
Chung said allegations that the ongoing protests were a “pro-independence movement supported by foreign forces” did not correlate with the research results.
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