HKU POP SITE today releases latest survey findings of WorldPublicOpinion.org – on publics' confidence in world political leadersBack

Press Release on June 30, 2009

Abstract

WouldPublicOpinion.org (or WPO) interviewed 19,224 people in 23 regions worldwide between April 4 and June 12, 2009. The survey finds that US President Barack Obama has the confidence of many publics around the world—inspiring far more confidence than any other world political leader. Stephen J. Weber of WorldPublicOpinion.org observes, "at this moment Obama occupies a unique position in the eyes of the world. His communication skills and the change he represents create an open door for him to engage people around the world." Invited commentator from Hong Kong Dr John Chuan-Tiong Lim observes, "Including the GCR and other Aisan regions, peoples around the world have generally voted high confidence to Obama. This no doubt is a confidence booster for Obama to do the right thing regarding world affairs." The margins of error of WPO surveys conducted around the world are controlled to the range of +/-3 to 4 percentage points. Lim also observes, "The focus of this international public opinion poll on the confidence in 8 global leaders is on Obama world-wide, and on Hu Jintao where the Great China Region is concerned."

Points to note:

* The Chinese website of "WorldPublicOpinion.org" is located at http://wpo.hkpop.hk and its English website is located at http://www.worldpublicopinion.org.
* Since there are sampling errors in the survey, the figures cannot be too accurate. When quoting percentages, journalists should refrain from reporting decimal places.

Latest Figures

POP today releases on schedule via the "HKU POP SITE" (http://hkupop.pori.hk) and "World Opinion Platform" (http://wpo.hkpop.hk) the latest figures of WouldPublicOpinion.org, which reflect people's opinions towards global citizenship. Herewith the contact information for the latest survey:

Date of survey	Overall sample size	Margin of error
Varies on 4/4-12/6/2009	19,224	Less than +/-4% in each region

Herewith the results of people in Greater China Region (GCR) and countries well-known to Hong Kong people. The theme is people's confidence in each leader to do the right thing regarding world affairs. For other figures and contact information, please refer to "World Opinion Platform": *

Date of survey	4/4-12/6/2009
Sample base	Ranges from 500 to 1,235
Now I am going to read a list of political leaders from around the world. Tell me how much confidence you have in each leader to do the right thing regarding world affairs—a lot of confidence, some confidence, not too much confidence, or no confidence at all.
US President Barack Obama	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	27%	50%	12%	3%	9%	100%
Hong Kong	28%	61%	9%	1%	2%	100%
Macau	46%	34%	9%	5%	5%	100%
Mainland	10%	45%	19%	6%	20%	100%
Taiwan	22%	59%	10%	1%	8%	100%
United States of America	38%	32%	16%	13%	1%	100%
Britain	47%	46%	4%	2%	2%	100%
France	21%	67%	8%	2%	3%	100%
South Korea	21%	67%	11%	1%	1%	100%
Germany	47%	42%	8%	2%	2%	100%
World average	26%	39%	16%	11%	7%	100%
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	3%	25%	32%	15%	26%	100%
Hong Kong	3%	31%	41%	17%	8%	100%
Macau	1%	20%	32%	20%	28%	100%
Mainland	4%	19%	23%	18%	36%	100%
Taiwan	3%	28%	31%	6%	33%	100%
United States of America	5%	41%	35%	14%	6%	100%
Britain	6%	38%	31%	16%	9%	100%
France	9%	40%	21%	29%	1%	100%
South Korea	6%	44%	37%	3%	11%	100%
Germany	12%	38%	34%	9%	6%	100%
World average	8%	28%	28%	18%	19%	100%
Great Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	6%	45%	20%	5%	25%	100%
Hong Kong	10%	58%	21%	4%	7%	100%
Macau	4%	41%	22%	6%	28%	100%
Mainland	4%	38%	17%	6%	36%	100%
Taiwan	5%	43%	21%	2%	28%	100%
United States of America	13%	51%	23%	8%	5%	100%
Britain	10%	36%	24%	29%	1%	100%
France	2%	31%	30%	16%	21%	100%
South Korea	7%	51%	29%	3%	10%	100%
Germany	8%	37%	37%	9%	10%	100%
World average	9%	31%	24%	15%	20%	100%
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	11%	41%	20%	6%	24%	100%
Hong Kong	10%	48%	24%	8%	10%	100%
Macau	11%	42%	20%	6%	22%	100%
Mainland	18%	46%	9%	3%	25%	100%
Taiwan	4%	27%	27%	6%	37%	100%
United States of America	3%	24%	42%	27%	5%	100%
Britain	4%	25%	35%	26%	10%	100%
France	1%	11%	28%	50%	10%	100%
South Korea	5%	37%	40%	10%	7%	100%
Germany	7%	17%	36%	36%	4%	100%
World average	11%	25%	25%	20%	16%	100%
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	9%	40%	18%	6%	27%	100%
Hong Kong	9%	47%	20%	7%	17%	100%
Macau	10%	48%	11%	5%	26%	100%
Mainland	13%	37%	16%	4%	31%	100%
Taiwan	5%	29%	26%	6%	35%	100%
United States of America	4%	33%	33%	24%	6%	100%
Britain	13%	34%	22%	12%	18%	100%
France	4%	36%	13%	12%	35%	100%
South Korea	57%	33%	8%	1%	0%	100%
Germany	8%	43%	18%	12%	19%	100%
World average	13%	29%	20%	14%	25%	100%
China's President Hu Jintao	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	45%	40%	8%	3%	4%	100%
Hong Kong	53%	41%	4%	2%	1%	100%
Macau	47%	45%	2%	1%	4%	100%
Mainland	66%	28%	3%	0%	2%	100%
Taiwan	13%	47%	21%	10%	10%	100%
United States of America	1%	24%	41%	29%	5%	100%
Britain	3%	12%	33%	39%	13%	100%
France	1%	13%	26%	46%	15%	100%
South Korea	7%	44%	38%	9%	2%	100%
Germany	4%	29%	28%	23%	17%	100%
World average	16%	27%	20%	17%	20%	100%
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	3%	19%	22%	13%	44%	100%
Hong Kong	2%	19%	27%	22%	29%	100%
Macau	4%	17%	24%	13%	42%	100%
Mainland	4%	25%	14%	6%	51%	100%
Taiwan	1%	14%	21%	12%	52%	100%
United States of America	2%	9%	29%	55%	5%	100%
Britain	2%	13%	23%	46%	16%	100%
France	0%	6%	19%	60%	15%	100%
South Korea	2%	17%	43%	24%	14%	100%
Germany	2%	5%	23%	58%	13%	100%
World average	9%	18%	22%	26%	25%	100%
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	4%	40%	18%	5%	34%	100%
Hong Kong	5%	47%	22%	7%	20%	100%
Macau	3%	37%	19%	6%	35%	100%
Mainland	4%	31%	15%	4%	46%	100%
Taiwan	5%	43%	14%	3%	36%	100%
United States of America	5%	42%	32%	15%	6%	100%
Britain	11%	55%	15%	7%	13%	100%
France	12%	67%	8%	7%	6%	100%
South Korea	6%	49%	28%	4%	13%	100%
Germany	30%	52%	12%	4%	2%	100%
World average	10%	33%	21%	14%	23%	100%

*Except Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland and Taiwan, the other regions are those best known to Hong Kong people. According to the survey conducted by POP on May 5 to 7, 2009, the 10 regions best known to Hong Kong people are the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Australia, Canada, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Germany. Among these regions, the United States, United Kingdom, France, South Korea and Germany participated in this current survey. For details of survey on people's best known regions, please refer to the press release on May 19, 2009 at the "HKU POP SITE". The figures for Greater China Region are calculated based on the survey results of Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland and Taiwan. Different from the calculation of WPO, the findings of these four regions are included in figures for world average.

Results of the latest survey showed that, among the 8 international leaders, publics in GCR had the most confidence in China's President Hu Jintao to do the right thing regarding world affairs, with 45% said "a lot of confidence" and 40% said "some confidence". As for other international leaders, publics in GCR had more confidence in US President Barack Obama, Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Great Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with a combined percentage of over 50%. On the other hand, people in GCR had relatively not much confidence in UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Herewith the results of people in Greater China Region (GCR) and countries in Asia. The theme is people's confidence in each Asian leader to do the right thing regarding world affairs. For other figures and contact information, please refer to "World Opinion Platform": *

Date of survey	4/4-12/6/2009
Sample base	Ranges from 500 to 1,235
[Leaders in Asia – Only ask publics in Asia] Now I am going to read another list of political leaders. For each, tell me how much confidence you have in each leader to do the right thing regarding world affairs—a lot of confidence, some confidence, not too much confidence, or no confidence at all.
Japan's Prime Minister Tara Aso	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	3%	31%	32%	14%	18%	100%
Hong Kong	2%	34%	40%	19%	6%	100%
Macau	1%	25%	36%	13%	25%	100%
Mainland	4%	23%	21%	18%	35%	100%
Taiwan	6%	42%	30%	5%	18%	100%
India	22%	28%	13%	10%	25%	100%
Indonesia	8%	23%	18%	5%	46%	100%
South Korea	2%	28%	52%	16%	2%	100%
India's President Manmohan Singh	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	2%	24%	22%	9%	44%	100%
Hong Kong	1%	28%	27%	12%	31%	100%
Macau	1%	16%	21%	9%	53%	100%
Mainland	4%	26%	17%	9%	45%	100%
Taiwan	3%	24%	22%	4%	48%	100%
India	55%	28%	9%	4%	3%	100%
Indonesia	5%	17%	23%	7%	48%	100%
South Korea	4%	43%	31%	5%	17%	100%
South Korea's President Myung-bak Lee	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	3%	36%	28%	9%	24%	100%
Hong Kong	2%	44%	34%	11%	10%	100%
Macau	2%	30%	26%	8%	34%	100%
Mainland	4%	34%	19%	7%	36%	100%
Taiwan	4%	37%	34%	9%	16%	100%
India	18%	19%	16%	17%	29%	100%
Indonesia	3%	16%	18%	6%	56%	100%
South Korea	12%	28%	33%	27%	0%	100%
North Korea's President Kim Jong-Il	A lot of confidence	Some confidence	Not too much confidence	No confidence at all	Depends / DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	3%	19%	24%	33%	21%	100%
Hong Kong	2%	15%	23%	52%	8%	100%
Macau	3%	14%	25%	32%	25%	100%
Mainland	6%	32%	19%	13%	31%	100%
Taiwan	2%	14%	29%	36%	18%	100%
India	14%	22%	11%	22%	31%	100%
Indonesia	5%	17%	25%	7%	47%	100%
South Korea	1%	5%	27%	67%	1%	100%

*Only those who had participated in the survey are shown.

Results of the latest survey showed that, among the 4 leaders in Asia, publics in GCR had the most confidence in South Korea's President Lee Myung-Bak to do the right thing regarding world affairs, with 3% said "a lot of confidence" and 36% said "some confidence". As for other leaders, publics in GCR had more confidence in Japan's Prime Minister Tara Aso, with a combined percentage of 34%. On the other hand, people in GCR had relatively not much confidence in India's President Manmohan Singh and North Korea's President Kim Jong-Il.

Inivted Commentary from Hong Kong

Invited commentator from Hong Kong Dr John Chuan-Tiong Lim, Fulbright Scholar at Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies of Harvard University (email address: <[email protected]>), analyzes the survey results as follows:

The focus of this international public opinion poll on the confidence in 8 global leaders is on Obama world-wide, and on Hu Jintao where the Great China Region is concerned.

In the eight years of Bush administration, the incidence of "911" once earned the US strong support and sympathy from the international community, but its unjustifiable stay or retreat in the Iraqi war under the "anti-terrorism" banner has put its international reputation to its lowest ebb. Thus, the results of this poll, which was conducted around the 100th day of Obama in office, can be an indicator showing whether or not Obama can regain the US's reputation in the international community.

The results showed that including the GCR and other Aisan regions, peoples around the world have generally voted high confidence to Obama. This no doubt is a confidence booster for Obama to do the right thing regarding world affairs.

The current poll has double meanings to the GCR. Firstly, this may be the first time for the four regions across the Strait to do a survey on the confidence level of the same Chinese leader. Secondly, it is indeed rare to conduct a poll on the confidence level of governments or leaders in Mainland China and this could be regarded as a breakthrough, which help to "link" China to the world in terms of knowledge about public opinions.

It is noteworthy that, results of the current poll showed that publics in the four regions across the Strait generally had very high confidence in Hu Jintao. The respective percentages of having "a lot of confidence" and "some confidence" in Hu Jintao were, 94% in Mainland China, 94% in Hong Kong, 92% in Macau, and 60% in Taiwan. Although there can be many and diverse reasons for having confidence in Hu Jintao among different peoples in GCR, the author believes these include peoples' approval of Hu Jintao's effort in establishing a stronger nation of China, their agreement with his basic policies towards Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and their appreciation of his cautious and dignified charisma.

Other Commentary

Stephen J. Weber of WorldPublicOpinion.org observes, "at this moment Obama occupies a unique position in the eyes of the world. His communication skills and the change he represents create an open door for him to engage people around the world." (For details please go to the website of WPO at http://www.worldpublicopinion.org.)

Additional Information: About WPO

WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO) was initiated and managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, USA. At present WPO consists of research centers from over 20 countries or regions including Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland and Taiwan (together called Greater China Region).

Apart from conducting the Hong Kong part of WPO survey, the Public Opinion Programme (POP) at the University of Hong Kong is also responsible for designing and maintaining the Chinese homepage of the WPO at http://wpo.hkpop.hk, which can be accessed via the HKU POP Site at http://hkupop.pori.hk. Besides, POP is also responsible for coordinating the polls in the Greater China Region, and will follow the rhythm of the WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO) to globally release the Chinese versions of WPO's press releases regularly. We welcome questions for follow-up purpose, please email them to us at <[email protected]>.