HKU POP SITE today releases latest survey findings of WorldPublicOpinion.org – on publics' opinion on global economic crisisBack

Press Release on July 22, 2009

Abstract

WouldPublicOpinion.org (or WPO) interviewed 18,066 people in 22 regions worldwide between April 4 and June 12, 2009. The survey finds that the publics feel that their government's efforts to address the economic crisis do not go far enough. Most publics favor government support for troubled companies and a global body that would monitor large financial institutions. "People around the world want more robust action from their governments in the face of the economic crisis", says Stephen Weber of WorldPublicOpinion.org. "Only in China and India, rare countries still on a growth track, do the public seem content with policy." Invited commentator from Hong Kong Dr John Chuan-Tiong Lim observes, "The financial tsunami has swept across the world, hitting almost every big and small country in Europe, America and the Asia Pacific. The Greater China Region is of no exception. Through this global opinion poll, the differences of the four GCRs in terms of financial systems, economic policies, assets structures and their relationships with the rest of the world have been reflected." The margins of error of WPO surveys conducted around the world are controlled to the range of +/-3 to 4 percentage points.

Points to note:

* The Chinese website of "WorldPublicOpinion.org" is located at http://wpo.hkpop.hk and its English website is located at http://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 on global economic crisis. Herewith the contact information for the latest survey:

Date of survey	Overall sample size	Margin of error
Varies on 4/4-12/6/2009	18,066	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 views on some possible factors contributed to the downturn in their economy, please refer to "World Opinion Platform": *

Date of survey	4/4-12/6/2009
Sample base	Ranges from 500 to 1,357
Here is a list of factors that some people say have contributed to the downturn in [country/region's] economy. For each one please tell me if you think it has contributed a lot, some, or not at all to the downturn.
Economic policies of [country/region]	Contributed a lot	Contributed some	Not at all	DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	28%	56%	11%	6%	100%
Hong Kong	26%	61%	9%	4%	100%
Macau	23%	56%	13%	9%	100%
Mainland	20%	63%	11%	6%	100%
Taiwan	41%	42%	11%	6%	100%
United States of America	45%	51%	4%	0%	100%
Britain	41%	48%	7%	3%	100%
France	32%	50%	15%	4%	100%
South Korea	49%	46%	4%	1%	100%
Germany	27%	58%	12%	2%	100%
World average	41%	43%	11%	5%	100%

Economic policies of the US	Contributed a lot	Contributed some	Not at all	DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	47%	37%	7%	9%	100%
Hong Kong	63%	31%	3%	3%	100%
Macau	33%	44%	13%	11%	100%
Mainland	38%	40%	6%	16%	100%
Taiwan	53%	34%	7%	6%	100%
United States of America	--	--	--	--	100%
Britain	57%	33%	6%	4%	100%
France	56%	29%	11%	5%	100%
South Korea	72%	26%	2%	0%	100%
Germany	68%	26%	4%	2%	100%
World average	49%	34%	10%	8%	100%

Economic policies of China	Contributed a lot	Contributed some	Not at all	DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	44%	35%	16%	5%	100%
Hong Kong	37%	39%	22%	2%	100%
Macau	46%	32%	15%	7%	100%
Mainland	--	--	--	--	100%
Taiwan	49%	34%	10%	7%	100%
United States of America	25%	60%	13%	3%	100%
Britain	16%	41%	26%	17%	100%
France	39%	35%	15%	11%	100%
South Korea	42%	49%	7%	2%	100%
Germany	30%	43%	15%	12%	100%
World average	28%	37%	22%	13%	100%

[Country/region] consumers taking on more debt than they should	Contributed a lot	Contributed some	Not at all	DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	21%	50%	17%	11%	100%
Hong Kong	24%	55%	17%	4%	100%
Macau	26%	47%	15%	12%	100%
Mainland	13%	49%	20%	18%	100%
Taiwan	--	--	--	--	100%
United States of America	74%	22%	4%	0%	100%
Britain	83%	14%	2%	1%	100%
France	49%	32%	17%	2%	100%
South Korea	62%	35%	3%	0%	100%
Germany	31%	41%	23%	6%	100%
World average	39%	37%	15%	9%	100%

[Country/region] bankers taking excessive risks	Contributed a lot	Contributed some	Not at all	DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	29%	45%	10%	16%	100%
Hong Kong	39%	47%	9%	5%	100%
Macau	28%	41%	13%	18%	100%
Mainland	11%	47%	14%	29%	100%
Taiwan	37%	45%	5%	13%	100%
United States of America	77%	19%	4%	0%	100%
Britain	89%	8%	2%	1%	100%
France	64%	22%	12%	2%	100%
South Korea	--	--	--	--	100%
Germany	78%	19%	3%	1%	100%
World average	41%	34%	13%	12%	100%

International bankers taking excessive risks	Contributed a lot	Contributed some	Not at all	DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	42%	37%	5%	17%	100%
Hong Kong	59%	32%	3%	7%	100%
Macau	36%	40%	7%	17%	100%
Mainland	19%	40%	8%	34%	100%
Taiwan	53%	35%	2%	9%	100%
United States of America	57%	37%	4%	2%	100%
Britain	79%	15%	2%	4%	100%
France	77%	13%	6%	4%	100%
South Korea	61%	34%	3%	3%	100%
Germany	88%	9%	2%	1%	100%
World average	43%	31%	12%	14%	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 factors contributed to their regions' economic downturn, 28% of publics in GCR believed that their own economic policies "contributed a lot" while 56% thought "contributed some". The respective percentage of publics in GCR believed that "the economic policies of US", "the economic policies of China" and "consumers in their regions taking on more debt than they should" "contributed a lot" to the economic downturn of their regions were 47%, 44% and 21%. As for other factors, publics in GCR generally believed that "bankers in their regions taking excessive risks" "contributed some" to the downturn, with 45%. Another 42% publics in GCR believed that "international bankers taking excessive risks" "contributed a lot" to the downturn.

Herewith the results of people in Greater China Region (GCR) and countries well-known to Hong Kong people. The theme is people's opinions on other economic issues. 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 1,357
Now thinking about our government's efforts to address the current economic crisis. Would you say they:	Go too far	Do not go far enough	Are about right	DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	6%	47%	41%	7%	100%
Hong Kong	3%	63%	32%	3%	100%
Macau	2%	45%	42%	10%	100%
Mainland	11%	20%	63%	6%	100%
Taiwan	7%	58%	25%	10%	100%
United States of America	31%	44%	25%	0%	100%
Britain	11%	58%	26%	5%	100%
France	9%	53%	34%	3%	100%
South Korea	16%	80%	3%	1%	100%
Germany	17%	40%	35%	8%	100%
World average	13%	56%	26%	5%	100%

Which of these two positions is closer to yours?	A. The world economy is so interconnected that nations should agree on standards to regulate banks that operate internationally	B. Each nation should maintain the freedom to make its own decisions about regulating its banks when they operate internationally.	DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	50%	44%	6%	100%
Hong Kong	49%	49%	2%	100%
Macau	49%	43%	8%	100%
Mainland	51%	41%	8%	100%
Taiwan	49%	44%	7%	100%
United States of America	43%	55%	2%	100%
Britain	48%	48%	4%	100%
France	55%	41%	4%	100%
South Korea	33%	66%	1%	100%
Germany	56%	41%	4%	100%
World average	45%	47%	8%	100%

Do you think that, in the current financial crisis:	A. The government should use public funds to help large manufacturing companies in trouble because if they fail it damages the general economy and too many people lose their jobs.	B. The government should not use public funds to help large manufacturing companies in trouble, because they are likely to fail anyway and the economy will be more vital if weak companies are allowed to fail.	DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	53%	37%	10%	100%
Hong Kong	44%	49%	7%	100%
Macau	58%	31%	11%	100%
Mainland	73%	21%	6%	100%
Taiwan	37%	48%	15%	100%
United States of America	28%	70%	2%	100%
Britain	57%	36%	6%	100%
France	55%	38%	7%	100%
South Korea	59%	39%	2%	100%
Germany	56%	35%	9%	100%
World average	57%	35%	8%	100%

Which of these two positions is closer to yours?	A. To prevent international economic instability, there should be a global regulating body that monitors big financial institutions to make sure they follow international standards.	B. A global financial regulating body is a bad idea because it would interfere in our economy and could make it less productive.	DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	69%	22%	9%	100%
Hong Kong	65%	31%	4%	100%
Macau	66%	21%	14%	100%
Mainland	79%	13%	8%	100%
Taiwan	67%	23%	10%	100%
United States of America	44%	52%	4%	100%
Britain	60%	36%	5%	100%
France	70%	24%	6%	100%
South Korea	62%	36%	2%	100%
Germany	71%	24%	5%	100%
World average	58%	31%	11%	100%

Do you think in the current economic crisis it is a good idea for our government to try to help [country/region] companies by making it harder for foreign companies to sell products here OR do you think that would be a bad idea because other countries will then do the same thing to our companies.	Good idea	Bad idea	DK/NS	Total
Greater China Region average	34%	54%	13%	100%
Hong Kong	28%	65%	7%	100%
Macau	43%	36%	21%	100%
Mainland	31%	63%	6%	100%
Taiwan	32%	50%	18%	100%
United States of America	42%	55%	3%	100%
Britain	29%	68%	3%	100%
France	36%	57%	7%	100%
South Korea	30%	68%	2%	100%
Germany	25%	68%	7%	100%
World average	46%	44%	10%	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, publics in GCR generally thought that their government "did not go far enough" or the government's efforts "were about right" to address the current economic crisis, with a respective of 47% and 41%. A respective of 50%, 53% and 69% of public in GCR thought that "nations should agree on standards to regulate banks that operate internationally", "the government should use public funds to help large manufacturing companies in trouble" and "there should be a global regulating body that monitors big financial institutions to make sure they follow international standards". Besides, 34% of the publics in GCR thought that it is a good idea for our government to try to help its own companies by making it harder for foreign companies to sell products here, while other 54% disagreed.

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 financial tsunami has swept across the world, hitting almost every big and small country in Europe, America and the Asia Pacific. The Greater China Region is of no exception. Through this global opinion poll, the differences of the four GCRs in terms of financial systems, economic policies, assets structures and their relationships with the rest of the world have been reflected.

Among all the factors contributing to the economic downturn, about 47% of the GCR respondents, similar to the global average, viewed America's economic policy as the major contributor. However, an obvious gap exists between individual regions, with about 63% of Hong Kong respondents taking this stance, whereas only about 38% and 33% of Mainland and Macau respondents share similar views respectively. The main reason why Hong Kong has a higher rate regarding American economic policy as responsible is that the region, having its currency pegged to American dollars, is more affected by the American and international financial environments. Such environments have relatively less influence on Mainland, whereas Macau's economy has been more dependent on Mainland. The close relationships between the economies of Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and that of Mainland can be seen as about 37-49% of respondents in the three regions viewed China's economic policy as a major contributor of the economic downturn, obviously higher than the world average of less than 30%.

Comparing the poll results of the four GCRs, the most distinct discrepancy is how they evaluate their governments' performances in dealing with the economic crisis. Global average from the opinion poll indicates that most people around the world are dissatisfied with their governments' performances. Those who think their governments "go too far" or "do not go far enough" amount to about 70% on average. In polls carried out in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, respondents gave equally negative comments to their governments, with the rate of dissatisfaction being 66%, 47% and 65% respectively. However, only 31% of Mainland respondents expressed dissatisfaction towards their government's performance. On the contrary 63% of respondents commented on the Mainland government positively. Among all GCRs, Mainland is the only region where satisfied respondents outnumbered dissatisfied ones.

Taking the background of Mainland into account, two factors are worth noting. First, objective economic data indicated that economic growth rate in Mainland does not suffer an obvious drop, with the government striving to keep annual GDP growth rate at the targeted 8%. On the other hand, it is undeniable that the Mainland's economy has been affected by the financial tsunami. Those who migrated to work in cities have returned to their villages. Unemployment of university students is no secret. Yet there is another reason that the Mainland's public have not got used to criticizing the government openly because of the region's established political environment.

Other Commentary

"People around the world want more robust action from their governments in the face of the economic crisis", says Stephen Weber of WorldPublicOpinion.org. "Only in China and India, rare countries still on a growth track, do the public seem content with policy." (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].