June Fourth commemoration is good for societyBack


Joint Press Release by Prof Joseph Chan of School of Journalism and Communication at CUHK and
Dr Robert Chung of Public Opinion Programme at HKU
on June 5, 2004
 

The research team led by Professor Joseph Man Chan of the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Dr Robert Ting-yiu Chung of the Public Opinion Programme at the University of Hong Kong, last night conducted an onsite opinion survey at Victoria Park, the venue of the June Fourth Candlelight Vigil. The survey aimed at understanding the demands of the participants, their views on the June Fourth Incident, and their channels of information and mobilization. Findings from the survey will be released from time to time in the near future. Today's release focuses on vigil participants' demands, and how the effects of the June Fourth Incident 15 years ago.

 

The research team last night systematically sampled and approached 608 vigil participants, 522 of whom were successfully interviewed, all being participants of age 15 or above. There were 13 partial cases and 73 refusals. The response rate was 85.9%.

 

Results showed that respondents had on average attended 5.8 June Fourth Candlelight Vigils since 1989. Among last night's participants, 29% were first time participants, 12% were regular participants who came every year, while 22% came every time after the handover. Regarding the demands of the participants, relevant figures are summarized as follows:

 

Table1: Demands of vigil participants (in percentages)

 Demands Very unimportant unimportant Half-half important Very important
 To protest the suppression of June Fourth 2 1 3 21 73
 To commemorate those who lost their lives on June Fourth 2 1 5 23 68
 To demand for a reversion of the official stand on the June Fourth Incident 2 3 6 23 66
 To remind others not to forget June Fourth 2 2 6 27 62
 To instigate the development of democracy in China 3 2 9 34 52
 To express my dissatisfaction with the Central Government's HK policy in recent months 5 10 21 25 39
 To reiterate my political beliefs 5 8 20 32 34
 To express my dissatisfaction with the HKSAR Government 9 11 25 22 32

* Since the percentages for "unknown" have not been listed, the total of each row may not add up to 100%.

 

Results also showed that 94% of the candlelight vigil participants considered it important that they came out to protest against the suppression of June Fourth by the Central Government in 1989, including 73% who said it was "very important". Likewise, 91% of the participants considered it important that they commemorate those who lost their lives on June Fourth, including 68% who said it was "very important". Eighty-nine percent said it was important to demand for a reversion of the official stand on the June Fourth Incident, including 66% who opted for "very important". Lower on the list included reminding others not to forget June Fourth (89%), instigating democratic development in China (86%), expressing dissatisfaction with the Central Government's Hong Kong policy in recent months (64%), and reiterating one's political beliefs (66%). Expressing one's dissatisfaction with the HKSAR Government was relatively less important (54%). Regarding participants' appraisal of the effect of the incident on themselves, relevant figures are summarized as follows:

 

Table 2: The effect of the June Fourth Incident on participants (in percentages)

 Views on June Fourth Incident Absolutely disagree Disagree Half-half Agree Absolutely agree
 I treasure freedom more 1 1 5 29 64
 I become more supportive of democracy 2 2 5 32 59
 I become more aware of China affairs 3 5 9 36 47
 I become more afraid of the Chinese Communist Party 15 20 23 21 20
 I would not hide my participation in the candlelight vigil from anybody 9 4 3 20 65
 

Results showed that 93% of the candlelight vigil participants said the incident 15 years ago made them treasure freedom more, including 64% who absolutely agreed to this. Ninety-one percent said they have become more supportive of democracy, 83% said they have become more aware of China affairs, 41% said they have become more afraid of the Chinese Communist Party. All in all, 85% said they would not hide their participation in the candlelight vigil from anybody.

 

On these findings, Joseph Chan and Robert Chung observed, "It is very obvious that those who joined the candlelight vigil were upset by the way the Central Government handled the June Fourth Incident. Dissatisfaction with the SAR Government was of minor consideration. Paradoxically, June Fourth has made many Hong Kong people more supportive of liberty and democracy, more concerned with national issues, and more willing to express their political demands in the open. In a way, the incident has a very positive effect on the development of our civil society."

 

Shall anyone have any question regarding the research design of the survey, please email them to Robert Chung or Joseph Chan at <[email protected], who would answer them as soon as possible. POP's next release of regular survey findings will be on June 8, 2004, Tuesday, at 2 pm, the latest popularity of CE Tung Chee-Hwa and Principal Officials under the accountability system will be released. Please note that everything carried in the POP Site does not represent the stand of the University of Hong Kong.