HKU POP releases ratings of the best telecommunication corporations and the latest survey on Taiwan and Tibetan issuesBack
Press Release on February 20, 2018
| Detailed Findings (Opinion on Independence of Taiwan) |
(Confidence in Cross-strait Reunification) |
| Detailed Findings ( Opinion on Applicability of "One Country, Two Systems" to Taiwan) |
| Detailed Findings (Opinion on Taiwan's Rejoining the United Nations) |
(Opinion on Independence of Tibet) |
Special Announcements
1. From July 2017, apart from sampling landline numbers to conduct opinion surveys, the Public Opinion Programme (POP) of The University of Hong Kong has also added mobile numbers to the sampling frame. After three months of testing, in October 2017, POP formalized the use of mixed samples as its standard for regular opinion surveys. The figures released today by POP have already incorporated landline and mobile samples, while "effective response rate" is continued to be used to describe the survey's contact information. As for the weighting method, a two-step protocol is used. First, both the landline and mobile samples have been rim-weighted according to figures collected in the 2016 By-census regarding the gender-age distribution of the Hong Kong population and the 2017 educational attainment (highest level attended) distribution and economic activity status distribution obtained from the Census and Statistics Department. After that, the mobile sample was rim-weighted according to the basic Public Sentiment Index (PSI) figures collected in the landline sample, and then mixed together to produce the final results. This weighting method has proved to be feasible after three months of testing, but POP will continue to review and enhance it, and keep the public informed.
2. To facilitate academic study and rational discussion, POP has already released for public examination some time ago via the "HKU POP SITE" (http://hkupop.pori.hk) the raw data of regular rating surveys of current CE Carrie Lam, former CEs CH Tung, Donald Tsang and CY Leung, along with related demographics of respondents. Please follow normal academic standards when using or citing such data.
Abstract
POP conducted a two-stage survey in February 2018 on the "Best Telecommunication Corporations", and the results show that the most well-known telecommunication corporation was Smartone. Results of rating survey, however, show that PCCW has the best CSR reputation in the sector, scoring 51.7 marks, while Smartone and Hutchison followed with 51.1 and 45.6 marks. POP interviewed 503 and 505 Hong Kong people by means of random telephone surveys for the first stage naming survey and second stage rating survey respectively. The sampling errors of rating figures are no greater than +/-2.0 marks at 95% confidence level. The response rate of the rating survey is 61%.
As for the Taiwan and Tibetan issues, POP interviewed 1,001 Hong Kong people between February 1 and 6, 2018 by means of a random telephone survey conducted by real interviewers. Our latest survey shows that Hong Kong people who oppose the independence of Taiwan continue to outnumber those who support it. The latest net support is negative 20 percentage points. Meanwhile, people's net support for Taiwan rejoining the UN significantly increases 11 percentage points to positive 22 percentage points. In general, although Hong Kong people object to the independence of Taiwan, they tend to support giving Taiwan more international space. Besides, the net value of those who believed "one country, two systems" should be applicable to Taiwan is negative 18 percentage points. People continue to be pessimistic about cross-strait reunification, and its latest net confidence is negative 32 percentage points. Regarding Tibetan issue, Hong Kong people who oppose the independence of Tibet also outnumber those who support it, with a net support rate of negative 44 percentage points. Further analysis shows that the older the people, the more they oppose Taiwan and Tibet's independence, while the younger the more pessimistic about cross-strait reunification. The maximum sampling error of all percentages is +/-4 percentage points at 95% confidence level, and net values need another calculation. The response rate of the survey is 62%.
Points to note:
[1] The address of the "HKU POP SITE" is http://hkupop.pori.hk, journalists can check out the details of the survey there.
[2] Because of sampling errors in conducting the survey(s) and the rounding procedures in processing the data, the figures cannot be too precise, and the totals may not be completely accurate. Therefore, when quoting percentages of the survey(s), journalists should refrain from reporting decimal places, but when quoting the rating figures, one decimal place can be used.
[3] The data of this survey is collected by means of random telephone interviews conducted by real interviewers, not by any interactive voice system (IVS). If a research organization uses "computerized random telephone survey" to camouflage its IVS operation, it should be considered unprofessional.
Ratings of the Best Telecommunication Corporations
[4] The sample size of the rating survey is 505 successful interviews, not 505 x 61.2% response rate. In the past, many media made this mistake.
[5] The maximum sampling errors of various ratings are not more than +/-2.0. "95% confidence level" means that if we were to repeat a certain survey 100 times, using the same questions each time but with different random samples, we would expect 95 times getting a figure within the error margins specified. When quoting these figures, journalists can state "sampling errors of various ratings not more than +/-2.0 at 95% confidence level".
Taiwan and Tibetan Issues
[6] The sample size of the survey is 1,001 successful interviews, not 1,001 x 62.5% response rate. In the past, many media made this mistake.
[7] The maximum sampling error of all percentages is +/-4 percentage points at 95% confidence level. "95% confidence level" means that if we were to repeat a certain survey 100 times, using the same questions each time but with different random samples, we would expect 95 times getting a figure within the error margins specified. When quoting these figures, journalists can state "sampling error of percentages not more than +/-4% at 95% confidence level, sampling error of net values not more than +/-7%".
I. Ratings of the Best Telecommunication Corporations
In 2008, HKUPOP initiated a tracking survey series on Corporate Social Responsibility, aiming to gauge the public image of different commercial organizations in order to encourage them to become ethical companies and select the best corporations. There are a total of six modules under this survey series, namely, 1) Public Transportation, 2) Telecommunication, 3) Banks and Financial Services, 4) Real Estate and Property Development, 5) Retail, and 6) Fast Food Restaurant. From January to December 2015, the survey was sponsored by Metro Broadcast Corporation Ltd and branded as "Metro CSR Index". Results were released every month in the website of Metro Radio.
At the beginning, these surveys were conducted once every three months, with two different modules each time. From July 2017, the frequency was changed to once every six months, with one module only for each survey. The surveys were conducted in two stages. In the first stage, respondents were requested to nominate, unprompted, at most 5 corporations that they can think of. POP would then select from this list of unprompted nominees the 3 most frequently cited names for the next stage survey. During the second stage survey, respondents would be asked to rate the CSR performance for each of the shortlisted corporations using a 0-100 scale. 0 indicates extremely poor performance, 100 indicates extremely good performance, and 50 means half-half.
Latest Figures
From July 2017, POP enhanced the previous weighting method that has been used for quite a few years. Apart from age, gender and education, economic activity group is now also taken into account when adjusting data. The latest figures released today have been rim-weighted according to figures collected in the 2016 By-census regarding the gender-age distribution of the Hong Kong population and the 2017 educational attainment (highest level attended) distribution and economic activity status distribution obtained from the Census and Statistics Department. The mobile sample has also been rim-weighted according to the basic Public Sentiment Index (PSI) figures collected in the landline sample. Herewith the contact information for the latest surveys of the best telecommunication corporations under the Best Corporations series:
|
Date of survey |
Effective sample size |
Effective response rate |
Maximum sampling error[8] |
|
1-2/2/2018 (Naming survey) |
503 |
61.5% |
+/-4% |
|
5-6/2/2018 (Rating survey) |
505 |
61.2% |
+/-2.0 |
[8] Errors are calculated at 95% confidence level using full sample size. "95% confidence level" means that if we were to repeat a certain survey 100 times, using the same questions each time but with different random samples, we would expect 95 times getting a figure within the error margins specified.
The research design of our "Best Corporation" rating survey has been explained in detail under "Survey Method" in our corresponding web page. The corporations being rated in our latest survey were those which obtained highest unprompted mentions in our first stage naming survey conducted in February 2018. In the survey, respondents could name up to 5 local telecommunication corporations which they knew best. The top three corporations mentioned most frequently in the sector were: Smartone, Hutchison and PCCW. These corporations then entered into the second stage rating survey conducted in the same month, respondents were asked to rate each short-listed corporations using a 0-100 scale. 0 indicates extremely poor performance, 100 indicates extremely good performance, and 50 means half-half.
Recent ratings of the best telecommunication corporations are summarized as follows:
|
Date of survey |
9-10/1/17 |
24-25/4/17 |
16-17/8/17 |
5-6/2/18 |
Latest change |
|
|
Sample size |
505 |
506 |
611[9] |
505 |
-- |
|
|
Response rate* |
69.8% |
74.0% |
57.6% |
61.2% |
-- |
|
|
Latest finding |
Finding |
Finding |
Finding |
Finding & error [10] |
Recognition rate |
-- |
|
PCCW |
58.4{2}[11] |
51.6{1}[11] |
54.1{2}[11] |
51.7+/-2.0{1} |
90.2% |
-2.4[11] |
|
Smartone |
59.1{1} |
50.9{2}[11] |
-- |
51.1+/-1.8{2} |
84.1% |
-- |
|
Hutchison |
54.6{3}[11] |
49.5{3}[11] |
50.7{3}[11] |
45.6+/-1.8{3} |
86.4% |
-5.1[11] |
|
HKBN |
-- |
-- |
58.6{1} |
-- |
-- |
-- |
* "Overall response rate" was used before September 2017, thereafter, "effective response rate" was used.
[9] The mobile sample was not included when survey results were released. The figures in the table above have been updated to reflect the results based on the combined landline and mobile sample. However, whether changes have gone beyond sampling errors is still determined based on the figures in the first release.
[10] All error figures in the table are calculated at 95% confidence level. "95% confidence level" means that if we were to repeat a certain survey 100 times, using the same questions each time but with different random samples, we would expect 95 times getting a figure within the error margins specified. Media can state "sampling error of various ratings not more than +/-2.0 at 95% confidence level" when quoting the above figures. Numbers in square brackets { } indicates rankings. The error margin of previous survey can be found at the POP Site.
[11] Such changes have gone beyond the sampling errors at the 95% confidence level, meaning that they are statistically significant prima facie. However, whether numerical differences are statistically significant is not the same as whether they are practically useful or meaningful, and different weighting methods could have been applied in different surveys.
Our latest survey showed that PCCW was considered as having the best CSR reputation among local telecommunication corporations, scored 51.7 marks, while Smartone and Hutchison scored 51.1 and 45.6 marks respectively.
II. Taiwan and Tibetan Issues
Latest Figures
POP today releases the latest findings on various Taiwan and Tibetan issues. From July 2017, POP enhanced the previous weighting method that has been used for quite a few years. Apart from age, gender and education, economic activity group is now also taken into account when adjusting data. The latest figures released today have been rim-weighted according to figures collected in the 2016 By-census regarding the gender-age distribution of the Hong Kong population and the 2017 educational attainment (highest level attended) distribution and economic activity status distribution obtained from the Census and Statistics Department. The mobile sample has also been rim-weighted according to the basic Public Sentiment Index (PSI) figures collected in the landline sample. Herewith the contact information for the latest survey:
|
Date of survey |
Effective sample size |
Effective response rate |
Maximum sampling error of percentages[12] |
|
1-6/2/2018 |
1,001 |
62.5% |
+/-3% |
[12] Errors are calculated at 95% confidence level using full sample size. "95% confidence level" means that if we were to repeat a certain survey 100 times, using the same questions each time but with different random samples, we would expect 95 times getting a figure within the error margins specified.
People's latest views towards various Taiwan and Tibetan issues are summarized below:
|
Date of survey |
29/2-3/3/16 |
1-4/8/16 |
1-5/3/17 |
2-7/8/17 |
1-6/2/18 |
Latest change |
|
Total sample size[13] |
1,004 |
1,008 |
1,027 |
1,016[14] |
1,001 |
-- |
|
Response rate* |
67.7% |
71.0% |
71.7% |
67.0% |
62.5% |
-- |
|
Latest finding |
Finding |
Finding |
Finding |
Finding |
Finding & error[15] |
-- |
|
Taiwan independence: Support rate |
35%[16] |
29%[16] |
25%[16] |
33%[16] |
33+/-4% |
-- |
|
Taiwan independence: Opposition rate |
52% |
44%[16] |
61%[16] |
52%[16] |
54+/-4% |
+2% |
|
Net support |
-17% |
-15% |
-36%[16] |
-19%[16] |
-20+/-7% |
-1% |
|
Taiwan rejoining the United Nations: Support rate |
47% |
41%[16] |
45% |
46% |
54+/-4% |
+8%[16] |
|
Taiwan rejoining the United Nations: Opposition rate |
30% |
27% |
36%[16] |
35% |
32+/-3% |
-3% |
|
Net support |
18% |
14% |
10% |
11% |
22+/-6% |
+11%[16] |
|
Believed "one country, two systems" was applicable to Taiwan |
33% |
31% |
39%[16] |
30%[16] |
35+/-4% |
+5%[16] |
|
Believed "one country, two systems" was not applicable to Taiwan |
52% |
46%[16] |
47% |
54%[16] |
53+/-4% |
-1% |
|
Net value of applicability |
-19% |
-15% |
-8% |
-24%[16] |
-18+/-7% |
+6% |
|
Confidence in cross-strait reunification |
28% |
26% |
31%[16] |
26%[16] |
30+/-3% |
+4%[16] |
|
No confidence in cross-strait reunification |
56% |
55% |
59% |
62% |
62+/-4% |
-- |
|
Net confidence |
-28% |
-29% |
-29% |
-37%[16] |
-32+/-7% |
+5% |
|
Tibet independence: Support rate |
18% |
17% |
16% |
16% |
19+/-3% |
+3% |
|
Tibet independence: Opposition rate |
62% |
57%[16] |
65%[16] |
63% |
63+/-4% |
-- |
|
Net support |
-44% |
-40% |
-49%[16] |
-47% |
-44+/-6% |
+3% |
* "Overall response rate" was used before September 2017, thereafter, "effective response rate" was used.
[13] These questions only use sub-samples of the tracking surveys concerned. The sub-sample sizes of the surveys range from 696 to 786, and the increased sampling errors have already been reflected in the figures tabulated.
[14] The mobile sample was not included when survey results were released. The figures in the table above have been updated to reflect the results based on the combined landline and mobile sample. However, whether changes have gone beyond sampling errors is still determined based on the figures in the first release.
[15] All error figures in the table are calculated at 95% confidence level. "95% confidence level" means that if we were to repeat a certain survey 100 times, using the same questions each time but with different random samples, we would expect 95 times getting a figure within the error margins specified. Media can state "sampling error of percentages not more than +/-4% at 95% confidence level, sampling error of net values not more than +/-7%" when quoting the above figures. The error margin of previous survey can be found at the POP Site.
[16] Such changes have gone beyond the sampling errors at the 95% confidence level, meaning that they are statistically significant prima facie. However, whether numerical differences are statistically significant is not the same as whether they are practically useful or meaningful, and different weighting methods could have been applied in different surveys.
Latest survey revealed that 54% of Hong Kong people interviewed opposed the independence of Taiwan whereas 33% showed support, with net support at negative 20 percentage points. Besides, 54% supported the rejoining the United Nations of Taiwan while 32% opposed, with net support at positive 22 percentage points. As for the applicability of "one country, two systems" to Taiwan, 35% gave a positive view while 53% gave a negative answer, with net value of applicability at negative 18 percentage points. 30% were confident in the ultimate reunification across the strait whilst 62% expressed no confidence, with net confidence at negative 32 percentage points. Regarding Tibetan issues, 63% of Hong Kong people interviewed opposed the independence of Tibet whereas 19% showed support, with net support at negative 44 percentage points.
Indepth Analysis
In the survey, we also asked respondents for their age. If they were reluctant to give their exact age, they could give us a range. According to their answers, we grouped them into 18-29, 30-49, and 50 years or older. Herewith further analysis of respondents' view on the Taiwan and Tibet independence issue, and confidence in cross-strait reunification by age:
|
Date of survey: 1-6/2/2018 |
18-29 |
30-49 |
50 or above |
Overall Sample |
|
|
View on the Taiwan independence issue[17] |
Support |
62+/-9%
|
38+/-6%
|
19+/-4%
|
33+/-4%
|
|
Oppose |
27+/-8%
|
46+/-6%
|
69+/-5%
|
54+/-4%
|
|
|
Don't know / hard to say |
11+/-6%
|
16+/-5%
|
12+/-3%
|
13+/-3%
|
|
|
Total |
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
|
[17] Differences among sub-groups are tested to be statistically significant at 99% confidence level.
|
Date of survey: 1-6/2/2018 |
18-29 |
30-49 |
50 or above |
Overall Sample |
|
|
View on the Tibet independence issue[18] |
Support |
37+/-9%
|
20+/-5%
|
14+/-4%
|
20+/-3%
|
|
Oppose |
46+/-10%
|
60+/-6%
|
71+/-5%
|
63+/-4%
|
|
|
Don't know / hard to say |
17+/-7%
|
20+/-5%
|
15+/-4%
|
17+/-3%
|
|
|
Total |
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
|
[18] Differences among sub-groups are tested to be statistically significant at 99% confidence level.
|
Date of survey: 1-6/2/2018 |
18-29 |
30-49 |
50 or above |
Overall Sample |
|
|
Confidence in cross-strait reunification[19] |
Yes |
14+/-7%
|
23+/-6%
|
39+/-5%
|
30+/-3%
|
|
No |
85+/-7%
|
70+/-6%
|
51+/-5%
|
62+/-4%
|
|
|
Don't know / hard to say |
1+/-1%
|
7+/-3%
|
11+/-3%
|
8+/-2%
|
|
|
Total |
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
|
[19] Differences among sub-groups are tested to be statistically significant at 99% confidence level.
Opinion Daily
In January 2007, POP opened a feature page called "Opinion Daily" at the "POP Site", to record significant events and selected polling figures on a day-to-day basis, in order to let readers judge by themselves the reasons for the ups and downs of different opinion figures. In July 2007, POP collaborated with Wisers Information Limited whereby Wisers supplies to POP each day starting from July 24, a record of significant events of that day, according to the research method designed by POP. These daily entries would be uploaded to "Opinion Daily" as soon as they are verified by POP.
For the polling items covered in this press release, the previous survey was conducted from August 2 to 7, 2017, while this survey was conducted from February 1 to 6, 2018. In between these two surveys, herewith the significant events selected from counting newspaper headlines and commentaries on a daily basis and covered by at least 25% of the local newspaper articles. Readers can make their own judgment if these significant events have any impacts to different polling figures.
|
27/1/18 |
The Returning Officer decides that the nomination of Agnes Chow for the Legislative Council By-election is invalid. |
|
17/1/18 |
Joshua Wong and Raphael Wong are jailed by the High Court over the Mongkok protest site clearance case. |
|
27/12/17 |
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passes the motion of cooperation arrangement for implementing the co-location plan. |
|
11/12/17 |
LegCo restores the debate on amendments to the Rules of Procedure. |
|
27/11/17 |
The Legislative Council Commission decides to recover 11.74 millions of remuneration and operating expenses paid to Leung Kwok-hung, Law Kwun-chung, Lau Siu-lai and Yiu Chung-yim, who have been disqualified from assuming the office of Members of LegCo. |
|
23/11/17 |
The Hong Kong Government held a seminar on the 19th National Congress. |
|
16/11/17 |
Basic Law Committee Chairman Li Fei delivers speech at the Basic Law Seminar in Hong Kong. |
|
4/11/17 |
The National People's Congress Standing Committee passes decisions to include the national anthem law in Annex III of the Hong Kong Basic Law. |
|
17/10/17 |
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. |
|
15/9/17 |
The heads of ten universities release a joint statement against "Hong Kong independence". |
Commentary
Note: The following commentary was written by Research Manager of POP, Frank Lee.
Our "Best Telecommunication Corporations" survey conducted in February shows that the most well-known telecommunication corporation was Smartone. Results of rating survey, however, show that PCCW has the best CSR reputation in the sector, scoring 51.7 marks, while Smartone and Hutchison followed with 51.1 and 45.6 marks.
As for the Taiwan and Tibetan issues, Hong Kong people who oppose the independence of Taiwan continue to outnumber those who support it. The latest net support is negative 20 percentage points. Meanwhile, people's net support for Taiwan rejoining the UN significantly increases 11 percentage points to positive 22 percentage points. In general, although Hong Kong people object to the independence of Taiwan, they tend to support giving Taiwan more international space. Besides, the net value of those who believed "one country, two systems" should be applicable to Taiwan is negative 18 percentage points. People continue to be pessimistic about cross-strait reunification, and its latest net confidence is negative 32 percentage points. Regarding Tibetan issue, Hong Kong people who oppose the independence of Tibet also outnumber those who support it, with a net support rate of negative 44 percentage points. Further analysis shows that the older the people, the more they oppose Taiwan and Tibet's independence, while the younger the more pessimistic about cross-strait reunification. As for the reasons affecting the ups and downs of various figures, readers are welcome to make their own judgment using the detailed records displayed in our "Opinion Daily".
Future Release (Tentative)
