<<Voices from the Hall – Consultation on retirement protection >>Back

| Background | Details of the Forum | Preparation works before the Forum | Research Results | Other Matters |

   
Background

“Voices from the Hall –Consultation on retirement protection” was jointly conducted by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and Public Opinion Programme, The University of Hong Kong (HKUPOP). It aimed at encouraging the public to deliberate on the consultation on retirement protection through the forum. The concept of this activity is based on the idea of “Deliberative Polling” created by the Stanford University in the US. The participants would listen to both affirmative and negative opinions from respective guests, and would be given the opportunity to pose questions to guests on the spot. The organizer would then analyze the change in public opinions collected before and after the debate. For the background information of Stanford University’s “Deliberative Polling”, please refer to the Deliberative Polling Page.

This study was divided into two parts, which included a public opinion survey with a representative sample of no less than 1,000 citizens, and a debate entitled “Voices from the Hall” attended by around 100 people. For the details and results of the public sample, please refer to the page here.
   
Research Team Members

Director

 : CHUNG Ting-Yiu Robert and PANG Ka-Lai Karie

Research Manager

 : Frank Wai-kin Lee

Data Analysts

 : Edward Chit-fai Tai, Alex Ka-wai Huang, Alan Chi-phone Yum, Eugene Yin-chun Lo, Kin Wong, Dicky Kwan-wai Wong

Other Team Members

 : Winnie Wing-yi Lee, Joyce Wai-man Chan, Jasmine Kin-wing Li, Kenneth Ka-shu Chan, Stanley Cho-leung Chu, Shirry Tsz-hin Heung, Carmen Ka-man Law
 

 
Details of the forum

Details of the “Voices from the Hall” are as follow:
  • Topic：Consultation on retirement protection
    		•
  • Date：5 March 2016 (Saturday)
    		•
  • Time：10am to 12 noon
    		•
  • Venue：RTHK Broadcasting House
    		•
     
  • Guest：
    		•  Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (Chief Secretary)

    Nelson Wing-sun Chow (Emeritus Professor, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, HKU)

    Lok-sang Ho (Professor, Department of Economics, Lingnan University)

    Raees Begum Baig (Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, CUHK)
     
  • Rundown：
    		• 09:15-10:00  Registration
    10:00-11:20  Debate
    11:20-11:25  Participants to fill in questionnaires
    11:25-11:45  Open discussion for participants
    11:45-12:00  Conclusion and announcement of poll results
     
  • Transportation: Apart from participants who went to the venue by themselves, shuttle buses at Kowloon Tong, Admiralty, Tsuen Wan, North Point and Tai Po were also provided by the organizer.
    		•
  • Note：Each participant will obtain HKD$100 as a token of appreciation of their attendance.

 

 
Preparation work before the Forum

POP officially started the invitation process 1 month before the Forum. In the first round of calls, 269 citizens showed interest to attend the activity. The calls were made according to the interviewees’ age group (i.e. 18 to 39, 40 to 59 and 60 or above) and their self-claimed social strata (collectively called upper, middle and lower class) to ensure the representativeness of the participants. RTHK then mailed or emailed the invitation letter for the debate, the first round survey (Chinese PDF available only) and the background information of the topic to each participant. POP then conducted the final confirmation one week before the debate, and a confirmed list of around 200 people who would attend the debate was finalized on 4 March 2016.

 

On the date of the debate, the organizer asked each participant to hand in the completed first round survey questionnaire upon their arrival at the venue. In the middle of the debate, the organizer asks each participant to fill in the second round survey questionnaire, which has the exact same content as the first one. The aim is to analyze the change in citizens’ opinion before and after the debate. The survey is jointly designed by POP and RTHK. All the operations, data collection and analysis are done independently by POP without the interference of any other party. The survey questions are as follows:


Q1. Do you think the retirement protection in Hong Kong should walk towards the direction of “Regardless of Rich or Poor” or “Those with Financial Needs”?
Q2. The “Regardless of Rich or Poor” proposal states that each elderly can get a fixed amount of allowance per month. How much do you agree or disagree towards the “Regardless of Rich or Poor” proposal?
Q3. “Those with Financial Needs” proposal states that each eligible elderly who have passed the income or asset assessment can get a fixed amount of allowance per month. How much do you agree or disagree towards the “Those with Financial Needs” proposal?
Q4. In Hong Kong, the existing retirement protection system includes MPF, age pension, CSSA… etc. Do you think there is a need to establish a new retirement protection system?
   
Research Results

A total of 143 citizens attended the debate on that day. 142 of them completed and submitted the first and second round survey questionnaires. POP conducted the analysis based on the 142 people and announced the research results on the spot.
   
Other Matters

RTHK conducted a live broadcast of the “Voices from the Hall” forum at Radio 1 and simultaneously a live streaming at RTHK TV 31 and its online broadcast station on that day. Besides, RTHK has uploaded the clip of the entire debate onto their website, at the following links:
   

| Background | Details of the Forum | Preparation work before the Forum | Research Results | Other Matters |