HKU POP SITE releases a column article discussing the relationship between the outbreak of SARS and the governance crisis facing the HKSAR Government Back

The "HKU POP SITE" (http://hkupop.pori.hk) of the Public Opinion Programme (POP) at the University of Hong Kong today releases in its "POP Column" an article entitled "Atypical Pneumonia and Governance Crisis". Written by Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of the Public Opinion Programme at HKU, the article analyzed the ups and downs of CE Tung Chee-hwa's popularity over the past year and a half, and the governance crisis faced by the HKSAR Government due to the outbreak of SARS, from the longitudinal and lateral points of view. Invited by Ming Pao Monthly, this article is released concurrently by the magazine and our POP Site. The copyright of it is entirely open, anyone can re-print it in whole or in part.

According to Chung, Tung's popularity over the past 18 months, despite a brief climb at the beginning, has plummeted from over 50 marks to below 45, and "there is no way he could command people's respect". The article pointed out that Tung's low-hanging popularity "has already dragged the three Secretaries and the whole administration down. Popularity of the three Secretaries is now shakily supported by CS Donald Tsang Yam-kuen alone, but he is unlikely to be able to save the day on his own". The article asserted that the hastily introduced accountability system has further "tarnished the previously effective accountability culture for civilian officials", which indirectly undermined the support of civil servants to the central leaders, resulting in a government with a weak core. Chung believed that the outbreak of atypical pneumonia has exposed the government's poor leadership and its volatility in decision-making, Tung's style of hiding the bad news, his unwilling to admit mistakes, as well as his subservience to Mainland leaders. The governance crisis is indeed "a stumbling block hampering the development of 'one country, two systems'. Tung should be responsible for this, and the Beijing Central Government should not take it too lightly".

The full article in Chinese, and an abridged version in English, together with details of the figures quoted, are available from our "HKU POP SITE". Please note that everything carried in the POP Site does not represent the stand of the University of Hong Kong. Dr Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of Public Opinion Programme, is responsible for everything posted in the POP Site, except for column articles which represent the stand of their authors.