HKU POP SITE releases the survey on people's feeling towards different governments and peoplesBack

Press Release on November 18, 2008

Abstract

The Public Opinion Programme at the University of Hong Kong conducted a double stage survey on Hong Kong citizens' feeling towards different governments and peoples this month, by means of random telephone interviews conducted by real interviewers. The survey finds that Hong Kong people's positive feeling towards fellow Hong Kong people is 19 percentage points higher than that towards the Hong Kong SAR Government and their positive feeling towards the Taiwan people is 8 percentage points higher than that of the Taiwan government. However, their positive feeling towards Mainland Chinese people is 8 percentage points lower than that of the Mainland Chinese government while their positive feeling towards Macau people is 5 percentage points lower than that of the Macau SAR Government. As for regions and countries beyond the cross-strait region, Hong Kong people's positive feelings towards the people of Japan is 26 percentage points higher than that of the Japanese government, that towards the people of Thailand is 23 percentage points higher than that of the Thai government, that towards the people of the United States is 21 percentage points higher than that of the American government, and that towards the people of South Korea is 13 percentage points higher than that of the South Korean government. In terms of absolute percentages, Hong Kong people seem to dislike the governments of the United States, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and Russia, whereas they seem to like all peoples rather than dislike them. This finding is worth studying by various governments. Moreover, also worth noting is that compared to half a year ago, Hong Kong people's positive feeling towards the Hong Kong SAR Government has plunged 18 percentage points, their negative feeling towards the Thai government has risen 18 percentage points, their positive feeling towards Taiwan people has dropped 17 percentage points, their positive feeling towards fellow Hong Kong people has dropped 14 percentage points, but their negative feeling towards the French government has dropped 12 percentage points. The sampling error of all percentages is between +/-1 to 4 percentage points at 95% confidence level while the response rate of the second stage opinion survey is 69%.

Points to note:

* The address of the "HKU POP SITE" is http://hkupop.pori.hk, journalists can check out the details of the survey there.
* The sample size of the first stage naming survey is 1,003 successful interviews, not 1,003 x 67.9% response rate, while the sample size of the second stage rating survey is 1,012 successful interviews, not 1,012 x 69.1% response rate. In the past, many media made this mistake.
* "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 various percentages not more than +/-4% at 95% confidence level".
* When quoting percentages of this survey, journalists should refrain from reporting decimal places in order to match the precision level of the figures.
* 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 on schedule via the "POP SITE" the survey findings on Hong Kong people's feeling towards different governments and peoples. These surveys on governments are conducted at least once a year since 1997, while the surveys on peoples only began in 2007, this being the third time. As a general practice, all figures released today have been weighted according to provisional figures obtained from the Census and Statistics Department regarding the gender-age distribution of the Hong Kong population in mid-2008. Herewith the contact information for the latest survey:

Date of survey	Overall sample size	Response rate	Sampling error of percentages*
5-7/11/08 (First stage naming survey)	1,003	67.9%	+/-3%
11-14/11/08 (Second stage opinion survey)	1,012	69.1%	+/-4%

* 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 sample error.

The research design of our survey on "people's feeling towards different governments and peoples" has been explained in detail under "Survey Method" in our corresponding web page. For many years, POP have selected 15 regions and countries that are best known to Hong Kong people, and conducted surveys to measure people's feeling towards the governments of these places. Our primary objective was to map Hong Kong people's cosmopolitan view over time. In 2007, we improved our research design. Our mid-2007 survey was divided into two stages, namely, a naming survey and an opinion survey. In the 2007 year-end survey, we further added the people module to the survey. In specific terms, in our naming survey, other than Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan and Macau, respondents can name, unaided, up to ten regions or countries which they know best. The four cross-strait regions together with 12 other regions and countries most frequently mentioned in the naming stage were then shortlisted into the second stage, with their governments and peoples rated by respondents as "very positive", "quite positive", "half-half", "quite negative" or "very negative". In our first stage survey conducted on November 5-7, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France and Australia were mentioned most frequently. Please refer to the relevant table in our website for the rest of the list. Our second stage survey was conducted on November 11-14. The following table summarizes the findings of Hong Kong people's feeling towards the governments and peoples of the four cross-strait regions.

Date of survey		16-25/5/07	3-7/12/07	14-16/5/08	11-14/11/08*
Sample base		1,008	1,012	1,005	1,012
Overall response rate		61.1%	68.3%	65.5%	69.1%
Feeling towards different governments / peoples **		Finding	Finding	Finding	Base^	Finding	Latest change^^	Difference with gov'ts' findings
Hong Kong	Governments Positive	53%	47%	42%	543	24% +/-4%	-18%#	-19%
	Governments Negative	7%	9%	8%	543	23% +/-4%	+15%#	+16%
	Peoples Positive	-	58%	57%	543	43% +/-4%	-14%#	+19%
	Peoples Negative	-	5%	3%	543	7% +/-2%	+4%#	-16%
Mainland	Governments Positive	44%	49%	48%	558	45% +/-4%	-3%	+8%
	Governments Negative	12%	12%	8%	558	13% +/-3%	+5%#	-7%
	Peoples Positive	-	39%	42%	558	37% +/-4%	-5%#	-8%
	Peoples Negative	-	16%	13%	558	20% +/-3%	+7%#	+7%
Taiwan	Governments Positive	5%	10%	22%	625	23% +/-3%	+1%	-8%
	Governments Negative	59%	56%	30%	625	35% +/-4%	+5%#	+15%
	Peoples Positive	-	40%	48%	625	31% +/-4%	-17%#	+8%
	Peoples Negative	-	10%	5%	625	20% +/-3%	+15%#	-15%
Macau	Governments Positive	36%	44%	41%	588	50% +/-4%	+9%#	+5%
	Governments Negative	12%	14%	6%	588	7% +/-2%	+1%	+5%
	Peoples Positive	-	51%	46%	588	45% +/-4%	-1%	-5%
	Peoples Negative	-	3%	2%	588	2% +/-1%	--	-5%

Date of survey		16-25/5/07	3-7/12/07	14-16/5/08	11-14/11/08*
Sample base		1,008	1,012	1,005	1,012
Overall response rate		61.1%	68.3%	65.5%	69.1%
Feeling towards different governments / peoples **		Finding	Finding	Finding	Base^	Finding	Latest change^^	Difference with gov'ts' findings
Singapore	Governments Positive	54%	59%	54%	588	51% +/-4%	-3%	-1%
	Governments Negative	8%	7%	8%	588	10% +/-2%	+2%	+6%
	Peoples Positive	--	63%	57%	588	52% +/-4%	-5%#	+1%
	Peoples Negative	--	3%	2%	588	4% +/-2%	+2%	-6%
Japan	Governments Positive	18%	17%	19%	572	21% +/-3%	+2%	-26%
	Governments Negative	39%	43%	27%	572	26% +/-4%	-1%	+17%
	Peoples Positive	--	46%	47%	572	47% +/-4%	--	+26%
	Peoples Negative	--	12%	7%	572	9% +/-2%	+2%	-17%
Canada	Governments Positive	48%	45%	46%	569	41% +/-4%	-5%#	-6%
	Governments Negative	3%	4%	2%	569	3% +/-1%	+1%	+2%
	Peoples Positive	--	52%	53%	569	47% +/-4%	-6%#	+6%
	Peoples Negative	--	1%	1%	569	1% +/-1%	--	-2%
Australia	Governments Positive	38%	46%	39%	649	42% +/-4%	+3%	-2%
	Governments Negative	4%	4%	4%	649	3% +/-1%	-1%	--
	Peoples Positive	--	47%	46%	649	44% +/-4%	-2%	+2%
	Peoples Negative	--	3%	3%	649	3% +/-1%	--	--
United Kingdom	Governments Positive	37%	38%	34%	616	39% +/-4%	+5%#	-2%
	Governments Negative	12%	12%	12%	616	8% +/-2%	-4%#	+4%
	Peoples Positive	--	45%	36%	616	41% +/-4%	+5%#	+2%
	Peoples Negative	--	7%	6%	616	4% +/-2%	-2%	-4%
South Korea	Governments Positive	29%	39%	32%	581	25% +/-4%	-7%#	-13%
	Governments Negative	10%	11%	9%	581	11% +/-3%	+2%	+1%
	Peoples Positive	--	45%	40%	581	38% +/-4%	-2%	+13%
	Peoples Negative	--	8%	6%	581	10% +/-3%	+4%#	-1%
Thailand	Governments Positive	22%	20%	23%	655	13% +/-3%	-10%#	-23%
	Governments Negative	19%	29%	19%	655	37% +/-4%	+18%#	+26%
	Peoples Positive	--	40%	39%	655	36% +/-4%	-3%	+23%
	Peoples Negative	--	9%	7%	655	11% +/-2%	+4%#	-26%
USA	Governments Positive	18%	16%	15%	556	15% +/-3%	--	-21%
	Governments Negative	32%	45%	41%	556	42% +/-4%	+1%	+32%
	Peoples Positive	--	41%	33%	556	36% +/-4%	+3%	+21%
	Peoples Negative	--	8%	10%	556	10% +/-2%	--	-32%
Germany	Governments Positive	26%	26%	27%	633	25% +/-3%	-2%	-6%
	Governments Negative	3%	6%	7%	633	6% +/-2%	-1%	+3%
	Peoples Positive	--	31%	32%	633	31% +/-4%	-1%	+6%
	Peoples Negative	--	3%	3%	633	3% +/-1%	--	-3%
France	Governments Positive	25%	24%	16%	609	20% +/-3%	+4%#	-9%
	Governments Negative	6%	7%	23%	609	11% +/-2%	-12%#	+6%
	Peoples Positive	--	32%	27%	609	29% +/-4%	+2%	+9%
	Peoples Negative	--	7%	11%	609	5% +/-2%	-6%#	-6%
Russia	Governments Positive	11%	17%	16%	543	17% +/-3%	+1%	-8%
	Governments Negative	22%	24%	21%	543	23% +/-4%	+2%	+17%
	Peoples Positive	--	26%	19%	543	25% +/-4%	+6%#	+8%
	Peoples Negative	--	7%	4%	543	6% +/-2%	+2%	-17%
Italy	Governments Positive	19%	18%	19%	554	19% +/-3%	--	-5%
	Governments Negative	5%	6%	6%	554	5% +/-2%	-1%	-1%
	Peoples Positive	--	28%	28%	554	24% +/-4%	-4%	+5%
	Peoples Negative	--	4%	4%	554	6% +/-2%	+2%	+1%

* "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" when quoting the above figures. The error margin of previous survey can be found at the POP Site.
** Collapsed from a 5-point scale.
^ These questions only uses sub-samples of the tracking surveys concerned, the sample size for each question also varies.
^^ Comparison made with survey findings of 14-16/5/08.
# 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 or not is not the same as whether they are practically useful or meaningful.

Findings obtained in mid-November showed that, regarding the results of people's feeling towards different governments, 24% felt positive towards the HKSAR government while 23% felt negative. For the other cross-strait governments, the corresponding positive figures for the Mainland, Taiwan and Macau SAR governments were 45%, 23% and 50%, while the corresponding negative figures were 13%, 35% and 7%. As for other governments, the positive figures for Singapore, Australia and Canada were 51%, 42% and 41% respectively, while those for the United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Russia and the United States were 39%, 25%, 25%, 21%, 20%, 19%, 17% and 15% correspondingly. Lastly, only 13% expressed positive feelings towards the government of Thailand.

As regards the results of people's feeling towards different peoples, latest survey showed that 43% felt positive towards the HKSAR people while 7% felt negative. For the other cross-strait regions, the corresponding positive figures for the Mainland, Taiwan and Macau SAR peoples were 37%, 31% and 45%, while the corresponding negative figures were 20%, 20% and 2%. As for the peoples of other regions and countries, the positive figures for Singapore, Japan and Canada were highest, with 52%, 47% and 47% respectively, while those for Australia, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Thailand, the United States, Germany, France and Russia were 44%, 41%, 38%, 36%, 36%, 31%, 29% and 25% correspondingly. Lastly, only 24% expressed positive feelings towards the people of Italy.

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. Our purpose is to provide readers with accurate information so that they can judge by themselves the reasons for the ups and downs of different opinion figures. When "Opinion Daily" began to operate on January 17, 2007, it only contained significant events and popularity figures of the Chief Executive over the past few months. As of today, it contains a chronology of events starting from May 1, 2006, and many poll figures registered since January 1, 2006. Readers can now check on the results of 9 different polling items compiled by POP, including the popularity of the Chief Executive, the HKSAR government, and the Secretaries of Departments under the accountability system. In near future, the content of "Opinion Daily" will continue to expand, in order to promote the science of opinion polling.

In July 2007, POP collaborated with Wisers Information Limited whereby Wisers supplies to POP since July 24 each day a record of significant events of that day, according to the research method designed by POP. These daily entries would be uploaded to the "Opinion Daily" feature page as soon as they are verified by POP, in order to provide readers with swifter and more accurate information.

In August 2007, POP began to include in its regular press releases a list of significant events which happened in between two surveys, so that readers can make their own judgment on whether these events have any effect on the ups and downs of the polling figures. This press release is no exception.

For the polling items covered in this press release, the previous survey was conducted from May 14 to 16, 2008 while this survey was conducted from November 11 to 14, 2008. 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.

14/11/08	HK economy shrinks for a second quarter as global crisis bites.
13/11/08	More than 9,000 workers are being sacked from Las Vegas Sands' construction sites in Macau.
12/11/08	The Legislative Council will investigate the Lehman Brothers minibonds affair.
11/11/08	Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian is in custody for money-laundering.
10/11/08	HKSAR Government announces a HK$10 billion loans special scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises.
9/11/08	Mainland pledges a 4 trillion yuan stimulus package to boost economy.
6/11/08	The meeting between Taiwan's leader Ma Ying-jeou and Chen Yunlin lasts for 8 minutes.
5/11/08	Barack Obama becomes the first black man to be elected US president.
4/11/08	1) Obama holds a decisive edge in national opinion polls for U.S. presidential election. 2) ARATS and SEF officials sign four agreements for cross-strait co-operation.
3/11/08	ARATS and SEF officials start negotiations for further co-operation across the straits.
2/11/08	Chen Yunlin visits Taiwan.
29/10/08	Premier Wen Jiabao issued five pledges to help Hong Kong ride out the global financial storm.
24/10/08	Chief Executive calls back his decision on the means test mechanism to Old Age Allowance.
22/10/08	SFC launched formal investigation into the affairs of CITIC.
17/10/08	Banks agrees to buy back the minibonds.
15/10/08	Donald Tsang announces his 4th Policy Address.
14/10/08	HKSAR government guarantees all bank deposits.
12/10/08	HKSAR government makes great effort to rescue financial crisis.
6/10/08	Government urges the banks to buy back mini-bonds issued by Lehman.
3/10/08	Public consultation is launched to review the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance.
1/10/08	China National Day celebrates achievement.
30/9/08	1) Hong Kong Monetary Authority announces 5 points emergency plan to ease the credit crunch in the banking system. 2) US House of Representatives throws out bailout plan.
29/9/08	1) Market plunge after rescue plan throw out. 2) Melamine found in chocolates.
28/9/08	1) Shenzhou VII spacecraft returns to earth. 2) Breakthrough on US financial rescue.
27/9/08	China astronaut's first spacewalk.
25/9/08	Shenzhou VII successfully blasts off.
22/9/08	Head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision resigns to take the blame of dairy contamination scandal.
20/9/08	Hong Kong first kidney stone case due to tainted milk.
17/9/08	1) Poison milk concealed for 3 years infects more than 6000 babies. 2) Fed prevents wider crisis with US$85b AIG rescue.
16/9/08	1) AIG crisis further leads to global financial turmoil. 2) Melamine found in milk manufactured by 22 companies.
15/9/08	Lehman bankruptcy triggers U.S. financial turmoil.
13/9/08	Sanlu Group tainted-milk producer told to halt production.
10/9/08	Consumer price inflation on the mainland at August drops to a 14-month low.
8/9/08	Liberal Party has a shock loss and DAB emerges as the biggest winner at LegCo election.
7/9/08	2008 Legislative Council election ends with a turnout of only 45%.
6/9/08	Newspapers report and discuss LegCo election.
2/9/08	Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej declared a state of emergency in Bangkok.
30/8/08	China's Olympic gold medalists performed at Hong Kong Stadium.
29/8/08	China's Olympic gold medalists started their three-day tour in Hong Kong.
28/8/08	Hong Kong and the mainland signed a new energy deal.
24/8/08	Beijing waved goodbye to the 2008 Olympic Games.
23/8/08	China will bring up the magical 50th gold.
17/8/08	China breaks the Olympic record.
16/8/08	Donald Tsang says Secretary for Civil Service Denise Yue Chung-yee do not need to step down.
15/8/08	Leung Chin-man quit his job with New World China Land.
9/8/08	China wins 2 golds on the first day of the Games competition.
8/8/08	The Beijing Olympic Games starts.
7/8/08	Beijing Olympics will open at 8 pm tomorrow.
6/8/08	The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic is ready.
5/8/08	Construction of the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge will be able to begin by 2010 after the central government agreed to inject funds.
4/8/08	A suspected terrorist attack in the western region of Xinjiang killed 16 police officers.
1/8/08	President Hu Jintao has pledged to pursue comprehensive economic and political reforms following the Beijing Olympics.
31/7/08	Hong Kong's Exchange Fund suffered a record investment loss of HK$35 billion in the first half year for the first time in its history.
30/7/08	The government will waive the HK$400-a-month foreign domestic helper levy for two years.
29/7/08	The SAR government and Ministry of Commerce signed Supplement V to the Hong Kong-Mainland Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA5) to allow Hong Kong enterprises greater and easier access to the mainland market.
26/7/08	A previously unknown Xinjiang separatist group, calling itself the Turkestan Islamic Party, has claimed responsibility for deadly bus explosions in two mainland cities, and threatened more attacks on Olympic host cities.
25/7/08	Conflicts broke out between Hong Kong journalists and police in Beijing during reporting the last batch of Olympics tickets on sale.
22/7/08	Provincial Communist Party secretary Wang Yang reveals new measures worth 40b yuan from Guangdong to assist HK SMEs.
21/7/08	Hong Kong's consumer prices rose 6.1 percent in June over a year earlier, the most in almost 11 years.
20/7/08	The waiving of the domestic helper levy is likely to start a month early on August 1.
19/7/08	38 nominations receveid for Legislative Council election on the first day of nomination period.
17/7/08	Chinese Government may continue tightening policy to counter inflation threat.
16/7/08	Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam- kuen has unveiled an HK$11 billion inflation relief package.
15/7/08	US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warns the US economy is confronted by "numerous difficulties".
12/7/08	Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan succeeds Frederick Ma Si-hang as the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development.
11/7/08	Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen promises to formulate policies to ease the burdens created by inflation.
10/7/08	Hong Kong passed its first anti-racism law.
9/7/08	HK Government will invite new tenders for the development of Kai Tak cruise terminal.
8/7/08	Vice-President Xi Jinping wound up his three-day visit in Hong Kong.
7/7/08	Vice-President Xi Jinping continues visit in Hong Kong.
6/7/08	Vice-president Xi Jinping pledges Beijing support for city.
5/7/08	Vice President Xi Jinping will arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow.
4/7/08	Regular direct cross-strait flights start in between Taiwan and the Mainland.
1/7/08	Protesters of the annual July 1 march urging the Government's response to demands.
26/6/08	Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen makes unprecedented appearance in chamber to defend political appointees.
25/6/08	Resignation of Frederick Ma Si-hang for Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development brings rumors.
24/6/08	Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Frederick Ma Si-hang has resigned after being diagnosed with brain lesions.
20/6/08	The government unveil a HK$1 billion buyout plan to reform chicken trade.
14/6/08	An earthquake of a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale occurs in northern Japan.
13/6/08	The mainland and Taiwan have agreed to regular weekend cross-strait charter flights and to allow more mainland tourists to visit Taiwan.
12/6/08	The mainland and Taiwan have agreed to open semi-official representative offices on each other's soil to strengthen cross-strait relations.
10/6/08	1) Chief Executive Donald Tsang apologizes for the arrangement of political appointments. 2) Over 500 drivers go on strike for tax cut on diesel.
9/6/08	Government is uncertain of the source of bird flu virus.
6/6/08	Education Bureau announces that new arrangements will start in 2009-10 school year the earliest.
5/6/08	The Chief Executive's Office Chan Tak-lam says Government could have handled the deputy minister issue better.
4/6/08	Barack Obama becomes the first black presidential nominee.
31/5/08	Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen talks about Deputy Director of Bureau and Political Assistant in Shanghai.
28/5/08	Hu Jintao and Wu Poh-hsiung have a meeting at the Great Hall of the People.
25/5/08	A strong aftershock of 6.4 magnitude jolts Qingchuan county.
24/5/08	Premier Wen Jiabao meets UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at quake epicentre.
21/5/08	The State Council will spend 70 billion yuan for rebuilding after the quake.
20/5/08	Ma Ying-jeou inaugurated as Taiwan's president.
19/5/08	The nation mourns at 2:28 pm for those who died in Sichuan earthquake.
18/5/08	The State Council announces national mourning on May 19 to 21.
17/5/08	Lakes formed by earthquake could burst, threatening millions in Sichuan.
16/5/08	President Hu Jintao stresses saving lives as top priority.
15/5/08	The rescue headquarters of the State Council estimate at least 50,000 people dead.
14/5/08	People's Liberation Army troops arrived Wenchuan and started to rescue.

It can be seen that in terms of events covered by at least 25% of the local newspaper in the form of headline stories in any particular day, there were very few headline stories related to events outside Hong Kong and Mainland China, between the two surveys, mainly about the cross-strait contacts and the United States presidential election. Therefore, exactly how Hong Kong people form their attitude towards different governments and peoples is definitely worth studying.

Commentary

Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of Public Opinion Programme, observed, "We started our survey on Hong Kong people's feeling towards different governments in 1997, in order to study Hong Kong people's international perspective. Our surveys show that Hong Kong people feel much more positively about other peoples than their governments, with the exception of Mainland China and Macau. For the cross-strait region, Hong Kong people's positive feeling towards fellow Hong Kong people is 19 percentage points higher than that towards the Hong Kong SAR Government and their positive feeling towards the Taiwan people is 8 percentage points higher than that of the Taiwan government. However, their positive feeling towards Mainland Chinese people is 8 percentage points lower than that of the Mainland Chinese government while their positive feeling towards Macau people is 5 percentage points lower than that of the Macau SAR Government. As for regions and countries beyond the cross-strait region, Hong Kong people's positive feelings towards the people of Japan is 26 percentage points higher than that of the Japanese government, that towards the people of Thailand is 23 percentage points higher than that of the Thai government, that towards the people of the United States is 21 percentage points higher than that of the American government, and that towards the people of South Korea is 13 percentage points higher than that of the South Korean government. In terms of absolute percentages, Hong Kong people seem to dislike the governments of the United States, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and Russia, whereas they seem to like all peoples rather than dislike them. This finding is worth studying by various governments. Moreover, also worth noting is that compared to half a year ago, Hong Kong people's positive feeling towards the Hong Kong SAR Government has plunged 18 percentage points, their negative feeling towards the Thai government has risen 18 percentage points, their positive feeling towards Taiwan people has dropped 17 percentage points, their positive feeling towards fellow Hong Kong people has dropped 14 percentage points, but their negative feeling towards the French government has dropped 12 percentage points. It should be noted, however, that our survey only covers regions and countries best known to Hong Kong people. Hong Kong people may well like or dislike other places much more, but because they are not the most well-known places, they do not appear on the list by design."

News about POP

POP's normal practice is to release the results of our regular surveys every Tuesday afternoon via our POP Site, except during public holidays, each time with a forecast of the items to be released in the next 7 days. According to schedule, our next release of regular survey findings will be November 25, 2008, Tuesday, between 1pm and 2pm, when the latest popularity figures of CE Donald Tsang and the HKSAR Government will be released.

POP will also follow the rhythm of the WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO) to globally release the Chinese versions of WPO's press releases regularly, via our "World Public Opinion Platform" accessible through our POP Site and the "Hong Kong People's Opinion Platform" at http://www.hkpop.hk.

Our general practice is to answer all questions on the research design of the surveys published in the POP Site as soon as we receive them, but we will not further comment on the findings. We welcome questions for follow-up purpose, please email them to us at <[email protected]>. We will keep such an arrangement under constant review, suggestions most welcome. Please note that everything carried in the POP Site does not represent the stand of the University of Hong Kong. Dr Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of POP, is responsible for everything posted herewith, except for column articles which represent the stand of their authors.

Starting from January 2006, we have included in our regular press releases a small educational section for the purpose of general civic education, so that we can share our experience with the general public. The subject of our education section today is "About HKUPOP".

About HKUPOP

Mapping people's feelings towards different governments and peoples
As the world progresses, Hong Kong people need to know and care more about the world, on top of their concern for local matters. Around the time of Hong Kong's handover, we at HKUPOP began to measure Hong Kong people's global views, while at the same time stepping up our surveys on national issues. We explained the development of this polling series twice in our press release dated on 31 December, 2007 and 20 May, 2008. Today, we release it again, so that readers can refresh such development.

In April 1997, our survey series on people's feelings towards different governments began. The wordings used in the questionnaire were "On a whole, do you have positive or negative feelings towards XXX government?" We first measured people's feelings towards the Hong Kong, Mainland, British, Taiwanese, Japanese and American governments. Surveys were conducted twice every year at irregular intervals, and after a pause in 2001, we rescheduled our surveys in 2002 to once a year. It has remained unchanged until the end of 2006. As for people's feelings towards the Canadian, Australian, Russian, Indian, Filipino, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Singaporean and Macau governments, we began our survey in September 1997 using the same wordings, but our schedule was to conduct one survey every year. Except for 2001 when no survey was conducted, our schedule has remained unchanged until the end of 2006, except for Macau. We first measured people's feeling towards the Macau government in 1997, then stopped, and resumed our survey in 2004 once very year.

Starting from May 2007, this survey series is conducted twice every year and is divided into two stages, i.e. naming survey and opinion survey. Then since December 2007, the part on "people's feeling towards different peoples" has also been added. In the naming survey, question wordings used are "Other than the HKSAR, Mainland, Macau and Taiwan, please name up to 10 regions and countries with which you are most familiar" while the wordings used in the opinion survey are "On a whole, do you have positive or negative feelings towards XXX government" and "On a whole, do you have positive or negative feelings towards XXX people". Regions covered include the HKSAR, Mainland, Macau and Taiwan, together with those 12 which are mentioned most frequently in the naming stage.

Regarding the sample size, from the beginning to 1999, the sample size of the survey was set at slightly over 500, while beginning from 2000, it was increased to at least 1,000. As for "people's feelings towards the Macau government, since 2004, the sample size has been changed from slightly over 500 to at least 1,000.

The findings of our surveys on "people's feelings towards the Mainland, British and HKSAR governments" conducted in 1998 and 1999 had been published in our newsletter POP Express, and have also been uploaded on-line at our HKU POP Site. As for the other figures, they are released via our HKU POP Site as well.