POP Site Editor's Casual Remarks – Sevens and EightsBack
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Note: These remarks represent the view of the author and not the University of Hong Kong. Eight years plus eight days ago, it was the seventh day of the seventh month in 2000 – a day not to be easily forgotten. Eight days plus eight days plus eight days later, it will be the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008. At 08:08:08 pm that day, the Olympic legend will come to life in Beijing. Between all these sevens and eights, POP has undergone big changes. Eight years ago, the line between opinion studies and the opinion of studies was blurred. The scientific study of society was not supported by a scientific society. Academic freedom was ill-defined, and government-academia exchanges were ambiguous. A rift existed between local opinion studies and the international community. Eight years later, although many issues remain unresolved, all parties seem to have known opinion polling much better than before. POP seizes this opportunity to take another important step forward. By establishing a Chinese website for the World Public Opinion Organization, and hosting it at POP』s online People』s Opinion Platform, members of different Chinese societies can come to know more about global public opinion, while peoples around the world can come to know more about public opinion in Chinese societies. East meets West in Hong Kong, so would opinions from the two worlds, we hope. Like the Olympic spirit, opinion studies should go beyond national boundaries. One world, one dream. After all these sevens and eights, nothing should remain wishy washy. Robert Ting-Yiu Chung |
