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| Joint Press Release on January 3, 2004 |
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Tens of thousands of citizens took to the street on the New Year Day. What do they call for? What outcomes do they expect? How firm is their will of fighting for democracy? What is the difference between their background and that of July 1 marchers? A survey found that the prompt introduction of general and direct election of the Chief Executive and all legislators are the common demands among the marchers. Although the marchers reckon that there will be no lack of hurdles for the realization of their demands, they still believe that citizens can take hold of Hong Kong's destiny. They assert that they will not retreat even if the Central Government expresses her disapproval against general election. |
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The survey was conducted by Prof. Joseph Man Chan of the School of Journalism and Communication at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Dr. Chung Ting-yiu, Robert, Director of the Public Opinion Programme at The University of Hong Kong. On the day of the march, their research team interviewed marchers at the Victoria Park and various points along the route of the march at various points of time. Among the 937 randomly chosen marchers of age 15 or above, 785 interviews were done successfully, 101 were done partially, and there were 51 refusals. The response rate was 83.8%. |
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Based on the 785 successful cases, the survey shows that more than 90% of the marchers avowed that they took to the street in order to fight for the direct election of the Chief Executive and all legislators in 2007 and 2008 respectively (See Table 1). At the same time, nearly 90% said that they marched against the appointment system of District Councils. |
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When asked about the chance of implementing general election of the Chief Executive and the legislature in 2007 and 2008, around 40% estimated that the chance is "very slim". Only 20% odd were relatively optimistic, while the rest 30% thought that the chance is so and so. |
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Four legal experts of the Central Government have commented on the review of Hong Kong's political system, which aroused controversy. When interviewees were asked whether they would stop taking to the street to fight for the implementation of direct election of the Chief Executive and the legislature if the Central Government expressed her opposition against it, around 80% stated explicitly that they would not back away. |
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The survey also found that 85% of the New Year Day marchers have participated in the July 1 march, while around 60% have participated in marches and rallies other than July 1 (See Table 2). More than 80% disclosed that they have voted in legislature elections. These show that the marchers are those more politically active members of society. Most of them thought that the July 1 march has positive influence on Hong Kong's development, marches can improve society, and citizens can take hold of Hong Kong's destiny. |
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As to the background of the marchers, the survey found that participants of the New Year march are mostly professionals and semi-professionals of middle class background and higher education level, similar to those of July 1 march. There are some small discrepancies: a smaller proportion of the New Year marchers is students, more are from middle class background, and they are of higher age. |
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Based on the uniformity and intensiveness of the marchers' opinion, Joseph Chan and Robert Chung contend that their democratic demand for direct election is crystal clear, which reveals that citizens' demand has been transformed from the mode of "passive and responsive battle for freedom" into that of "proactive and assertive collective action of fighting for democracy". |
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Joseph Chan and Robert Chung argue that the marchers' doggedness towards their political belief and their hope towards post-July 1 Hong Kong can be reflected in their insistence in taking to the street even if they expect that there will be a lot of hurdles on the road of democratization and they are not optimistic towards the success of their democratic demands. It is not exaggerating to say that the marchers' "sense of empowerment" has never been so strong as it is now. |
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A lot of the marchers proclaimed that they would not withdraw from the street even if the Central Government expressed her disapproval. Joseph Chan and Robert Chung agree that the political attitude of the Central Government will no doubt have a significant influence on the review of Hong Kong's political system and the outcome of this review. However, they suggest that top-down political "condemnation" or "intimidation" will gradually lose its potency, in the wake of the July 1 march. It may even cause backlash. The gesture of escorting the SAR Government by the legal experts of the Central Government on the eve of the 1999 incident of NPC's interpretation of the Basic Law has reverted Hong Kong people's confidence towards "one country, two systems" from an upward track, which has not yet recovered. The Central Government should not repeat this blunder. |
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This survey also found that the marchers rated the performance of President Hu Jintao and Primer Wen Jiabao with marks as high as 61 and 64 respectively, although Tung Chee Hwa has only got 14 marks. This reflects that Hong Kong people are still bearing a fairly high goodwill towards the Central Government. How to employ this goodwill to strengthen the political exchange between the Central Government and Hong Kong people is a question that the Central Government has to face, while how to take the initiative to response to people's surging call for democracy is the pressing subject for the SAR Government. |
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Table 1: Demands and mentality of marchers (percentage) |
| Do you agree with the following statements？ | Highly disagree | Disagree | So and so | Agree | Highly agree |
| I march in order to fight for the direct election of the Chief Executive by all citizens in Hong Kong in 2007. | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 5.6 | 88.3 |
| I march in order to fight for the direct election of all legislators in Hong Kong in 2008. | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 5.5 | 88.9 |
| I march in order to oppose the appointment system of District Councils. | 2.8 | 2.0 | 5.1 | 8.0 | 81.4 |
| I think the chance is very slim for the implementation of direct election of the Chief Executive by all citizens in Hong Kong in 2007. | 10.9 | 11.6 | 29.9 | 15.9 | 27.5 |
| I think the chance is very slim for the implementation of direct election of all legislators in Hong Kong in 2008. | 11.4 | 13.8 | 30.9 | 17.6 | 22.6 |
| If the Central Government expresses her opposition against the implementation of direct election of the Chief Executive by all citizens in 2007, I will not take to the street to fight for it again. | 67.6 | 11.1 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 9.3 |
| If the Central Government expresses her opposition against the implementation of direct election of all legislators in Hong Kong in 2008, I will not take to the street to fight for it again. | 71.1 | 9.9 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 7.4 |
| The governance of the SAR Government has improved after the July 1 march. | 35.0 | 23.5 | 24.6 | 9.3 | 6.8 |
| I think citizens can take hold of Hong Kong's destiny. | 4.4 | 5.8 | 16.7 | 19.4 | 51.8 |
| I march because action can improve society. | 1.3 | 2.3 | 8.6 | 25.2 | 62.1 |
| The July 1 march has a positive influence towards Hong Kong's development. | 2.7 | 1.4 | 5.4 | 13.0 | 76.1 |
| My family's current financial situation is quite good. | 9.0 | 10.1 | 43.1 | 17.4 | 19.8 |
| My family's financial situation in the coming five years will be quite good. | 8.8 | 13.0 | 42.1 | 15.7 | 12.6 |
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Sample size: 785 Since the percentages for "unknown/no answer" have not been listed, the total of each row may not add up to 100%. |
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Table 2: Background of marchers (percentage) |
| Gender | Male | Female | |||||
| 67.5 | 32.5 | ||||||
| Experience of July 1 march | Participant | Non-participant | |||||
| 85.0 | 15.0 | ||||||
| Experience of marches and rallies other than July 1 march | Participant | Non-participant | |||||
| 60.3 | 39.7 | ||||||
| Voting experience in legislature elections | Yes | No | |||||
| 81.3 | 17.9 | ||||||
| Education attainment | Primary school or below | Secondary school | Tertiary education or above | ||||
| 5.0 | 39.6 | 55.4 | |||||
| Family's class position | Upper class | Middle class | Grassroots | ||||
| 1.5 | 66.2 | 26.1 | |||||
| Occupation | Professionals/Semi-professionals | Clerks/Service workers | Students | Manual workers | Housewives | Other occupations | Un-employed/ non-employed |
| 41.0 | 18.8 | 9.6 | 5.5 | 4.4 | 10.3 | 3.6 | |
| Age | 15-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60 or above | |
| 4.7 | 18.4 | 27.7 | 30.8 | 14.8 | 3.6 | ||
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Sample size: 785 Since the percentages for "unknown/no answer" have not been listed, the total of each row may not add up to 100%. |
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