In light of the media’s persistence in asking the Public Opinion Programme (POP) to respond to the remarks made by Peter Lee Ka-kit, Hong Kong Member of the CPPCC National Committee of the People’s Republic of China during his meeting with Zhang Dejiang, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of POP, therefore releases the following statement:
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I welcome all discussions on public opinion research by anybody in any occasion in order to gather collective wisdom, provided that such discussions are objective, fair, and based on facts.
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POP was established in 1991, and has been releasing various kinds of public opinion surveys regularly for 23 years. Our methodology is transparent, and can withstand any academic scruitiny. When collaborating with other parties, POP stands firm on the principles of transparency and scientific enquiry, never making compromise to fit others’ political background or standpoint. POP follows its predetermined schedule in releasing regular surveys, never taking into consideration the sensitivity of the timing, or whether it favours or disfavours anybody.
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Peter Lee Ka-kit suggested establishing a fund in Hong Kong to support public opinion surveys, I absolutely welcome this idea and hope such fundings would be extended to cover Mainland China, so that independent and scientific opinion research mechanisms can thrive in Chinese societies.
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For many years, I have been elected as a Council Member of the World Association for Public Opinion Research. I deeply understand the scientific standard of public opinion research and its challenges across the world, especially that of political suppression. Riding on the commencement of the National People’s Congress meeting, how to connect China’s opinion research to the rest of the world should be a good topic for discussion. We can learn from Hong Kong’s experience.
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Recently, Hong Kong people has been panicking about the suppression of press freedom. Pacifying people’s worries should be the most important task of the Central Government. Spilling over people’s anxiety on the freedom of expression to the domain of academic freedom would be a very unwise move.
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