HKU POP releases popularity figures of CE and principal officialsBack

Press Release on March 13, 2018

| Detailed Findings (Rating of Chief Executive Carrie Lam) | Detailed Findings (Popularity of Principal Officials) |

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 today released via the "HKU POP SITE" (http://hkupop.pori.hk) the raw data and related respondents' demographics of the latest rating survey of CE Carrie Lam, together with those of regular rating surveys of former CEs CH Tung, Donald Tsang and CY Leung released earlier, for public examination. Please follow normal academic standards when using or citing such data.

Abstract

POP interviewed 1,002 Hong Kong people between 1 and 6 March, 2018 by means of a random telephone survey conducted by real interviewers. Our latest survey shows that the popularity figures of CE Carrie Lam have not changed much since two weeks ago. Her latest popularity rating is 56.3 marks. Her latest approval rate is 47%, disapproval rate 41%, giving a net popularity of positive 6 percentage points. As for the Secretaries of Departments, the latest support rating of CS Matthew Cheung is 53.2 marks. His approval rate is 31%, disapproval rate 20%, giving a net popularity of positive 12 percentage points. The latest support rating of FS Paul Chan is 42.1 marks, approval rate 24%, disapproval rate 48%, thus a net popularity of negative 24 percentage points, dropped significantly by 12 percentage points from that registered on the day of Budget Speech. As for SJ Teresa Cheng, her support rating is 37.5 marks, approval rate 19%, disapproval rate 43%, giving a net popularity of negative 24 percentage points. In terms of popularity rating and approval rate, Matthew Cheung continues to be the most popular Secretary of Department. As for the Directors of Bureaux, compared to one month ago, the net approval rates of 5 among 13 Directors have gone up while 8 have gone down. Among them, Secretary for Security John Lee, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury James Lau and Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong register significant changes in their net approval rates, up by 7 and down by 7 and 8 percentage points respectively. Among all the Directors, Secretary for Innovation and Technology Nicholas Yang and Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah register negative popularity, at negative 1 and negative 11 percentage points respectively. Sophia Chan is currently the most popular Director, with a net approval rate of positive 38 percentage points. According to POP's standard, no one falls under the category of "ideal" or "successful" performer. The performance of Sophia Chan, Carrie Lam, Law Chi-kwong, Edward Yau, Wong Kam-sing, John Lee, Matthew Cheung, Frank Chan, Lau Kong-wah, Nicholas Yang, Paul Chan and Teresa Cheng can be labeled as "mediocre". That of Joshua Law, Kevin Yeung, Michael Wong, James Lau and Patrick Nip can be labeled as "inconspicuous". No one falls into the category of "depressing" or "disastrous". The maximum sampling error of all approval and disapproval rates is +/-4 percentage points at 95% confidence level, while the sampling errors of rating figures and net approval rates need another calculation. The response rate of the survey is 65%.

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] The sample size of this survey is 1,002 successful interviews, not 1,002 x 64.7% response rate. In the past, many media made this mistake.

[3] "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 rating not more than +/-1.9, sampling error of percentages not more than +/-4%, and sampling error of net values not more than +/-7% at 95% confidence level".

[4] 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.

[5] 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.

Latest Figures

POP today releases the latest popularity figures of CE Carrie Lam and various Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux under the accountability system. 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^[6]
1-6/3/2018	1,002	64.7%	+/-3%

[6] 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. Questions using only sub-samples would have bigger sampling error. Sampling errors of ratings and net approval rates are calculated according to the distribution of the scores collected.

As different questions involve different sub-samples, the sampling errors will vary accordingly. The table below briefly shows the relationship between sample size and maximum sampling errors for the readers to capture the corresponding changes:

Sample size (total sample or sub-sample)	Sampling error of percentages^[7] (maximum values)	Sample size (total sample or sub-sample)	Sampling error of percentages^[7] (maximum values)
Sample size (total sample or sub-sample)	Sampling error of percentages^[7] (maximum values)	Sample size (total sample or sub-sample)	Sampling error of percentages^[7] (maximum values)	1,300	+/- 2.8%	1,350	+/- 2.7%
1,200	+/- 2.9%	1,250	+/- 2.8%
1,100	+/- 3.0%	1,150	+/- 3.0%
1,000	+/- 3.2%	1,050	+/- 3.1%
900	+/- 3.3%	950	+/- 3.2%
800	+/- 3.5%	850	+/- 3.4%
700	+/- 3.8%	750	+/- 3.7%
600	+/- 4.1%	650	+/- 3.9%
500	+/- 4.5%	550	+/- 4.3%
400	+/- 5.0%	450	+/- 4.7%

[7] Based on 95% confidence interval.

Recent popularity figures of CE Carrie Lam are summarized as follows:

Date of survey	18-19/12/17	3-4/1/18	15-18/1/18	1-6/2/18	20-22/2/18	*1-6/3/18*	*Latest change*
Sample base	1,013	1,000	1,035	1,001	1,017	*1,002*	--
Effective response rate	64.9%	58.3%	63.6%	62.5%	63.6%	*64.7%*	--
Finding	Finding	Finding	Finding	Finding	Finding	*Finding and error^[8]*	--
Rating of CE Carrie Lam	58.3^[9]	58.7	54.4^[9]	53.6	55.7^[9]	*56.3+/-1.6*	*+0.6*
Vote of confidence in CE Carrie Lam	49%	51%	45%^[9]	47%	47%	*47+/-3%*	--
Vote of no confidence in CE Carrie Lam	36%	36%	41%^[9]	43%	40%	*41+/-3%*	*+1%*
Net approval rate	12%	15%	4%^[9]	4%	7%	*6+/-6%*	*-1%*

[8] 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 rating not more than +/-1.6, sampling error of percentages not more than +/-3%, sampling error of net approval rates not more than +/-6% at 95% confidence level" when quoting the above figures. The error margin of previous survey can be found at the POP Site.

[9] 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.

Recent popularity figures of the three Secretaries of Departments under the accountability system are summarized below:

Date of survey	6-9/11/17	4-6/12/17	3-4/1/18	1-6/2/18	28/2/18 ^[10]	*1-6/3/18*	*Latest change*
Sample base^[10]	700-729	720-824	725-760	748-796	614	*785-815*	--
Effective response rate	57.6%	61.0%	58.3%	62.5%	67.5%	*64.7%*	--
Finding	Finding	Finding	Finding	Finding	Finding	*Finding & error^[11]*	--
Rating of CS Matthew Cheung	54.6	50.7^[12]	53.7^[12]	50.8^[12]	--	*53.2+/-1.7*	*+2.4^[12]*
Vote of confidence in CS Matthew Cheung	35%	31%^[12]	34%	36%	--	*31+/-3%*	*-5%^[12]*
Vote of no confidence in CS Matthew Cheung	19%	21%	17%^[12]	22%^[12]	--	*20+/-3%*	*-2%*
Net approval rate	17%	9%^[12]	17%^[12]	14%	--	*12+/-5%*	*-2%*
Rating of FS Paul Chan	43.7^[12]	42.2	43.8	44.3	44.5	*42.1+/-1.9*	*-2.4^[12]*
Vote of confidence in FS Paul Chan	23%	22%	25%	26%	30%	*24+/-3%*	*-6%^[12]*
Vote of no confidence in FS Paul Chan	38%^[12]	39%	41%	38%	41%	*48+/-4%*	*+7%^[12]*
Net approval rate	-15%	-17%	-16%	-12%	-12%	*-24+/-6%*	*-12%^[12]*
Rating of SJ Teresa Cheng	--	--	--	34.1	--	*37.5+/-1.9*	*+3.4^[12]*
Vote of confidence in SJ Teresa Cheng	--	--	--	19%	--	*19+/-3%*	--
Vote of no confidence in SJ Teresa Cheng	--	--	--	48%	--	*43+/-3%*	*-5%^[12]*
Net approval rate	--	--	--	-29%	--	*-24+/-5%*	*+5%*

[10] The frequency of this series of questions is different from that of CE popularity ratings. Comparisons, if made, should be synchronized using the same intervals. These questions only uses sub-samples of the tracking surveys concerned, the sample size for each question also varies. The survey conducted on 28/2/2018 was the Budget instant survey and only asked rating of FS as well as his vote of confidence.

[11] 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 +/-1.9, sampling error of percentages not more than +/-4%, sampling error of net approval rates not more than +/-6% at 95% confidence level" when quoting the above figures. The error margin of previous survey can be found at the POP Site.

[12] 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 popularity figures of Directors of Bureaux under the accountability system are summarized below, in descending order of net approval rates:

Date of survey	3-4/1/18		1-6/2/18		*1-6/3/18*		*Latest change*
Sample base^[13]	535-633		551-652		*549-633*		--
Effective response rate	58.3%		62.5%		*64.7%*		--
Sample base / Percentage of answer	Base	%	Base	%	*Base*	% & error ^[14]	--
Vote of confidence in Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan	565	46%	553	47%	*612*	*47+/-4%*	--
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan	565	5%^[15]	553	7%	*612*	*9+/-2%*	*+2%*
Net approval rate	565	40%	553	41%	*612*	*38+/-5%*	*-3%*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong	595	43%	587	50%^[15]	*623*	*44+/-4%*	*-6%^[15]*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong	595	11%	587	9%	*623*	*11+/-3%*	*+2%*
Net approval rate	595	31%	587	41%^[15]	*623*	*33+/-5%^[16]*	*-8%^[15]*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for the Civil Service Joshua Law	595	37%	652	44%^[15]	*627*	*41+/-4%*	*-3%*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for the Civil Service Joshua Law	595	5%^[15]	652	7%	*627*	*8+/-2%*	*+1%*
Net approval rate	595	32%	652	37%	*627*	*33+/-5%^[16]*	*-4%*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau	624	42%	551	43%	*619*	*41+/-4%*	*-2%*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau	624	8%	551	7%	*619*	*10+/-2%*	*+3%^[15]*
Net approval rate	624	34%	551	36%	*619*	*32+/-5%*	*-4%*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing	619	38%	635	38%	*633*	*41+/-4%*	*+3%*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing	619	17%	635	18%	*633*	*15+/-3%*	*-3%*
Net approval rate	619	21%	635	20%	*633*	*25+/-6%*	*+5%*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for Security John Lee	579	34%^[15]	612	34%	*629*	*37+/-4%*	*+3%*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for Security John Lee	579	12%	612	17%^[15]	*629*	*13+/-3%*	*-4%^[15]*
Net approval rate	579	22%^[15]	612	17%	*629*	*24+/-5%*	*+7%^[15]*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury James Lau	593	24%	603	30%^[15]	*549*	*24+/-4%*	*-6%^[15]*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury James Lau	593	7%	603	6%	*549*	*6+/-2%*	--
Net approval rate	593	17%	603	25%^[15]	*549*	*18+/-4%^[17]*	*-7%^[15]*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for Development Michael Wong	626	26%	618	24%	*599*	*27+/-4%*	*+3%*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for Development Michael Wong	626	12%	618	11%	*599*	*9+/-2%*	*-2%*
Net approval rate	626	14%	618	13%	*599*	*18+/-5%^[17]*	*+5%*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip	599	21%	579	22%	*602*	*23+/-3%*	*+1%*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip	599	11%^[15]	579	14%	*602*	*11+/-3%*	*-3%*
Net approval rate	599	10%^[15]	579	8%	*602*	*11+/-5%*	*+3%*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan	607	33%^[15]	620	34%	*610*	*31+/-4%*	*-3%*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan	607	15%^[15]	620	20%^[15]	*610*	*22+/-3%*	*+2%*
Net approval rate	607	17%^[15]	620	14%	*610*	*10+/-6%*	*-4%*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung	535	32%^[15]	594	33%	*586*	*28+/-4%*	*-5%^[15]*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung	535	20%	594	22%	*586*	*22+/-3%*	--
Net approval rate	535	12%^[15]	594	11%	*586*	*6+/-6%*	*-5%*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for Innovation and Technology Nicholas Yang	633	26%	591	28%	*619*	*25+/-3%*	*-3%*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for Innovation and Technology Nicholas Yang	633	19%	591	23%^[15]	*619*	*26+/-4%*	*+3%*
Net approval rate	633	8%	591	5%	*619*	*-1+/-6%*	*-6%*
Vote of confidence in Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah	583	25%	611	25%	*588*	*28+/-4%*	*+3%*
Vote of no confidence in Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah	583	38%^[15]	611	42%	*588*	*39+/-4%*	*-3%*
Net approval rate	583	-13%^[15]	611	-17%	*588*	*-11+/-7%*	*+6%*

[13] These questions only uses sub-samples of the tracking surveys concerned, the sample size for each question also varies.

[14] 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% and sampling error of net approval rates not more than +/-7% at 95% confidence level" when quoting the above figures. The error margin of previous survey can be found at the POP Site.

[15] 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.

[16] Based on the figures of latest survey, in one decimal place, the respective net approval rates of Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong and Secretary for the Civil Service Joshua Law are 33.2 and 32.5 percentage points. Thus, they are ranked second and third this time.

[17] Based on the figures of latest survey, in one decimal place, the respective net approval rates of Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury James Lau and Secretary for Development Michael Wong are 18.0 and 17.8 percentage points. Thus, they are ranked seventh and eighth this time.

The latest survey showed that CE Carrie Lam scored 56.3 marks, and 47% supported her as CE, her net approval rate is positive 6 percentage points. Meanwhile, the corresponding ratings of CS Matthew Cheung, FS Paul Chan and SJ Teresa Cheng were 53.2, 42.1 and 37.5 marks, and 31%, 24% and 19% would vote for their reappointments correspondingly. Their net approval rates are positive 12, negative 24 and negative 24 percentage points respectively.

As for the Directors of Bureaux, according to the net approval rates, results revealed that the top position goes to Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan, attaining positive 38 percentage points. The 2nd and 3rd places belong to Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong and Secretary for the Civil Service Joshua Law, both with net approval rates of positive 33 percentage points. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau, Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing, Secretary for Security John Lee, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury James Lau, Secretary for Development Michael Wong, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip, Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung, Secretary for Innovation and Technology Nicholas Yang and Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah ranked 4th to 13th, their corresponding net approval rates are positive 32, positive 25, positive 24, positive 18, positive 18, positive 11, positive 10, positive 6, negative 1 and negative 11 percentage points. In other words, no Director scored a net approval rate of over 50%.

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 of some items was conducted from 1 to 6 February, 2018 while this survey was conducted from 1 to 6 March, 2018. During this period, 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.

3/3/18	Financial Secretary Paul Chan says the Community Care Fund will explore measures to help people who have not been covered by the Budget.
28/2/18	Financial Secretary Paul Chan delivers the first Budget of the current-term government.
10/2/18	KMB bus flips onto its side at Tai Po Highway causing 19 deaths.
9/2/18	The Housing Authority will offer more than 4,400 Home Ownership Scheme Flats next month.
7/2/18	Due to severe outbreak of influenza, the government announces early Chinese New Year holidays for kindergartens and primary schools.
6/2/18	US stocks fall tremendously and spark off worldwide stock market crash. Hong Kong is one of the stock markets' hardest hit.
2/2/18	Hong Kong is rated as world's freest economy for 24 years consecutively by the US Heritage Foundation.

Online Opinion Analysis

In July 2017, POP started collaborating with uMax Data Technology Limited to conduct "Online Opinion Analysis". uMax Data would provide technical support concerning social big data to track posts in Facebook pages and various major forums in Hong Kong that mentioned specific political figures or organizations. When public opinion changes very significantly, POP will summarize the popular online posts about the specific political figures or organizations between the two surveys and compile a list of related events. Readers could make their own judgment if the events listed have impact on the related public opinion figures.

Since the latest survey findings reveal that the net approval rate of FS Paul Chan has changed significantly compared to the figure recorded in the last survey, POP conducted "Online Opinion Analysis" to identify the top ten most discussed issues on the internet. The list of most discussed items after eliminating duplications is as follows:

FS Paul Chan delivered the Budget Speech.

The decision of FS Paul Chan not to give public cash handouts was challenged.

Netizens discussed the fee waiver of HKDSE examinations.

Netizens discussed the handing out of Ocean Park tickets to primary and secondary school students.

The results show that online public opinion had been discussing the Budget Speech by FS. Whether or not these items could sufficiently explain the changes in FS popularity ratings, readers could form their own judgment.

Commentary

Note: The following commentary was written by Research Manager of POP, Frank Lee.

Our latest survey shows that the popularity figures of CE Carrie Lam have not changed much since two weeks ago. Her latest popularity rating is 56.3 marks. Her latest approval rate is 47%, disapproval rate 41%, giving a net popularity of positive 6 percentage points.

As for the Secretaries of Departments, the latest support rating of CS Matthew Cheung is 53.2 marks. His approval rate is 31%, disapproval rate 20%, giving a net popularity of positive 12 percentage points. The latest support rating of FS Paul Chan is 42.1 marks, approval rate 24%, disapproval rate 48%, thus a net popularity of negative 24 percentage points, dropped significantly by 12 percentage points from that registered on the day of Budget Speech. As for SJ Teresa Cheng, her support rating is 37.5 marks, approval rate 19%, disapproval rate 43%, giving a net popularity of negative 24 percentage points. In terms of popularity rating and approval rate, Matthew Cheung continues to be the most popular Secretary of Department.

As for the Directors of Bureaux, compared to one month ago, the net approval rates of 5 among 13 Directors have gone up while 8 have gone down. Among them, Secretary for Security John Lee, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury James Lau and Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong register significant changes in their net approval rates, up by 7 and down by 7 and 8 percentage points respectively. Among all the Directors, Secretary for Innovation and Technology Nicholas Yang and Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah register negative popularity, at negative 1 and negative 11 percentage points respectively. Sophia Chan is currently the most popular Director, with a net approval rate of positive 38 percentage points.

According to POP's standard, no one falls under the category of "ideal" or "successful" performer. The performance of Sophia Chan, Carrie Lam, Law Chi-kwong, Edward Yau, Wong Kam-sing, John Lee, Matthew Cheung, Frank Chan, Lau Kong-wah, Nicholas Yang, Paul Chan and Teresa Cheng can be labeled as "mediocre". That of Joshua Law, Kevin Yeung, Michael Wong, James Lau and Patrick Nip can be labeled as "inconspicuous". No one falls into the category of "depressing" or "disastrous".

The following table summarizes the grading of CE Carrie Lam and the principal officials for readers' easy reference:

"Ideal": those with approval rates of over 66%; ranked by their approval rates shown inside brackets

"Successful": those with approval rates of over 50%; ranked by their approval rates shown inside brackets

"Mediocre": those not belonging to other 5 types; ranked by their approval rates shown inside brackets

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee (47%)^[18]; CE Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (47%)^[18]; Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong (44%); Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah (41%) ^[19]; Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing (41%)^[19]; Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu (37%); CS Matthew Cheung Kin-chung (31%)^[20]; Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan (31%)^[20]; Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah (28%); Secretary for Innovation and Technology Nicholas Yang Wei-hsiung (25%); FS Paul Chan Mo-po (24%); SJ Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah (19%)

"Inconspicuous": those with recognition rates of less than 50%; ranked by their approval rates; the first figure inside bracket is approval rate while the second figure is recognition rate

Secretary for the Civil Service Joshua Law Chi-kong (41%, 49%); Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung (28%, 49%); Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun (27%, 36%); Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury James Henry Lau Jr (24%, 29%); Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip Tak-kuen (23%, 34%)

"Depressing": those with disapproval rates of over 50%; ranked by their disapproval rates shown inside brackets

"Disastrous": those with disapproval rates of over 66%; ranked by their disapproval rates shown inside brackets

[18] In two decimal places, the respective approval rates of Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee and CE Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor are 46.81% and 46.75%.

[19] In one decimal place, the respective approval rates of Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah and Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing are 41.4% and 40.6%.

[20] In one decimal place, the respective approval rates of CS Matthew Cheung Kin-chung and Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan are 31.4% and 31.2%.

Future Release (Tentative)

March 20, 2018 (Tuesday) 12pm to 2pm: Ratings of Top 10 Legislative Councillors, Ratings of the Best Corporations

Reference - Technical Notes of "Online Opinion Analysis"

Technically, POP research team firstly determines and inputs related keywords to be searched on the platform provided by uMax Data. POP then selects targeted online platforms to be monitored (currently selected: Facebook and forums), and extract the top five most discussed items on each online platform, thus come up with a list of 10 items in total. By eliminating duplications in the top ten items, POP compiles a table which is included in the press release for readers' reference.