HKU POP SITE releases findings on people's feeling towards different governments and peoples Back

Press Release on May 18, 2010

Abstract

The Public Opinion Programme (POP) 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 continues to show that Hong Kong people feel much more positively about other peoples than their governments, with the exception of Mainland China and Singapore. Regarding the four cross-strait societies, Hong Kong people's positive feeling towards the Taiwan people is 23 percentage points higher than that of the Taiwan government, that towards fellow Hong Kong people is 21 percentage points higher than that towards the Hong Kong SAR Government, and that towards the Macau people is 6 percentage points higher than that of the Macau SAR Government. However, their positive feeling towards Mainland Chinese people is 6 percentage points lower than that of the Mainland Chinese government. As for countries and regions outside the cross-strait regions, Hong Kong people's positive feeling towards the people of Japan is 28 percentage points higher than that of the Japanese government, that towards the people of Thailand is 22 percentage points higher than that of the Thai government, that towards the people of the United States is 12 percentage points higher than that of the American government, that towards the people of France is 10 percentage points higher than that of the French government, while that towards the people and the government of Singapore are the same. In terms of absolute percentages, Hong Kong people seem to dislike the governments of Thailand, the United States, Russia, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan 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 negative feeling towards the Thai government has rocketed by 20 percentage points, that towards the government of Hong Kong, Mainland China and the United States have all increased by 6 percentage points and that towards the government of Macau has increased by 4 percentage points. Meanwhile, it is also worth noting Hong Kong people's negative feeling towards the Thai people has also surged by 14 percentage points and that towards the Singaporean people has risen by 3 percentage points. The maximum sampling error of all percentages is between +/-1 and +/-4 percentage points at 95% confidence level while the response rate of the second stage opinion survey is 70%.

Points to note:

[1] The address of the "HKU POP SITE" is http://hkupop.pori.hk, journalists can check out the details of the survey there.
[2] The sample size of the first stage naming survey is 1,031 successful interviews, not 1,031 x 72.4% response rate, while the sample size of the second stage rating survey is 1,018 successful interviews, not 1,018 x 70.2% response rate. In the past, many media made this mistake.
[3] "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".
[4] When quoting percentages of this survey, journalists should refrain from reporting decimal places in order to match the precision level of the figures.
[5] 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 sixth 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 2009 year-end. Herewith the contact information for the latest survey:

Date of survey	Overall sample size	Response rate	Sampling error of percentages^[6]
30/4-6/5/2010 (First stage naming survey)	1,031	72.4%	+/-3%
7-12/5/2010 (Second stage opinion survey)	1,018	70.2%	+/-3%

[6] 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. For this survey, the sub-sample size of all questions has been controlled to no less than 500. Corresponding sampling errors have been reported in the statistical tables.

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 30 April – 6 May, 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 May 7-12. 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		11-14/11/08	11-16/5/09	10-15/11/09	7-12/5/2010
Sample base		1,012	1,011	622	1,018
Overall response rate		69.1%	65.4%	70.8%	70.2%
Feeling towards different governments / people^[8]		Finding	Finding	Finding	Base^[9]	Finding and error^[7]	Latest change^[10]	Difference with gov'ts / peoples
Hong Kong	People Positive	43%^[11]	47%	43%	512	44+/-4%	+1%	+21%
	People Negative	7%^[11]	5%	9%^[11]	512	10+/-3%	+1%	-16%
	Government Positive	24%^[11]	29%^[11]	24%^[11]	512	23+/-4%	-1%	-21%
	Government Negative	23%^[11]	16%^[11]	20%^[11]	512	26+/-4%	+6%^[11]	+16%
Mainland	People Positive	37%^[11]	37%	30%^[11]	537	26+/-4%	-4%	-6%
	People Negative	20%^[11]	12%^[11]	18%^[11]	537	22+/-4%	+4%	+1%
	Government Positive	45%	41%	44%	537	32+/-4%	-12%^[11]	+6%
	Government Negative	13%^[11]	11%	15%^[11]	537	21+/-4%	+6%^[11]	-1%
Taiwan	People Positive	31%^[11]	39%^[11]	40%	549	42+/-4%	+2%	+23%
	People Negative	20%^[11]	8%^[11]	9%	549	8+/-2%	-1%	-14%
	Government Positive	23%	25%	24%	549	19+/-3%	-5%^[11]	-23%
	Government Negative	35%^[11]	26%^[11]	22%	549	22+/-4%	--	+14%
Macau	People Positive	45%	46%	44%	553	40+/-4%	-4%	+6%
	People Negative	2%	3%	3%	553	4+/-2%	+1%	-11%
	Government Positive	50%^[11]	44%^[11]	40%	553	34+/-4%	-6%^[11]	-6%
	Government Negative	7%	9%	11%	553	15+/-3%	+4%^[11]	+11%

[7] All error figures in the table are calculated at 95% confidence level. "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.
[8] Collapsed from a 5-point scale.
[9] The sample size for each question varies, but has been controlled to no less than 500. Corresponding sampling errors have all been given.
[10] Comparison made with survey findings of 10-15/11/09.
[11] 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.

Herewith the findings of Hong Kong people's feelings towards the governments and peoples of 12 regions and countries other than the four cross-strait regions. They are ranked according to Hong Kong people's positive feelings towards their people.

Date of survey		11-14/11/08	11-16/5/09	10-15/11/09	7-12/5/2010
Sample base		1,012	1,011	622	1,018
Overall response rate		69.1%	65.4%	70.8%	70.2%
Feeling towards different governments / peoples^[13]		Finding	Finding	Finding	Base^[14]	Finding and error^[12]	Latest change^[15]	Difference with gov'ts / peoples
Singapore	People Positive	52%^[16]	54%	54%	539	57+/-4%	+3%	--
	People Negative	4%	3%	2%	539	5+/-2%	+3%^[16]	-3%
	Government Positive	51%	50%	49%	539	57+/-4%	+8%^[16]	--
	Government Negative	10%	10%	9%	539	8+/-2%	-1%	+3%
Canada	People Positive	47%^[16]	51%	47%	543	50+/-4%	+3%	+5%
	People Negative	1%	1%	2%	543	2+/-1%	--	--
	Government Positive	41%^[16]	47%^[16]	45%	543	45+/-4%	--	-5%
	Government Negative	3%	2%	2%	543	2+/-1%	--	--
Japan	People Positive	47%	48%	49%	521	48+/-4%	-1%	+28%
	People Negative	9%	8%	7%	521	9+/-3%	+2%	-16%
	Government Positive	21%	17%^[16]	23%^[16]	521	20+/-4%	-3%	-28%
	Government Negative	26%	33%^[16]	23%^[16]	521	25+/-4%	+2%	+16%
Australia	People Positive	44%	49%^[16]	42%^[16]	543	46+/-4%	+4%	+4%
	People Negative	3%	2%	3%	543	5+/-2%	+2%	+1%
	Government Positive	42%	45%	40%^[16]	543	42+/-4%	+2%	-4%
	Government Negative	3%	2%	5%^[16]	543	4+/-2%	-1%	-1%
United Kingdom	People Positive	41%^[16]	40%	36%	526	38+/-4%	+2%	+5%
	People Negative	4%	4%	5%	526	6+/-2%	+1%	-6%
	Government Positive	39%^[16]	36%	33%	526	33+/-4%	--	-5%
	Government Negative	8%^[16]	10%	10%	526	12+/-3%	+2%	+6%
South Korea	People Positive	38%	37%	40%	509	38+/-4%	-2%	+7%
	People Negative	10%^[16]	8%	9%	509	7+/-2%	-2%	-4%
	Government Positive	25%^[16]	24%	30%^[16]	509	31+/-4%	+1%	-7%
	Government Negative	11%	12%	9%	509	11+/-3%	+2%	+4%
Germany	People Positive	31%	32%	29%	511	33+/-4%	+4%	+7%
	People Negative	3%	3%	3%	511	2+/-1%	-1%	--
	Government Positive	25%	28%	24%	511	26+/-4%	+2%	-7%
	Government Negative	6%	5%	4%	511	2+/-1%	-2%	--
USA	People Positive	36%	32%	33%	504	33+/-4%	--	+12%
	People Negative	10%	10%	10%	504	12+/-3%	+2%	-20%
	Government Positive	15%	23%^[16]	26%	504	21+/-4%	-5%^[16]	-12%
	Government Negative	42%	26%^[16]	26%	504	32+/-4%	+6%^[16]	+20%
Thailand	People Positive	36%	34%	31%	524	30+/-4%	-1%	+22%
	People Negative	11%^[16]	17%^[16]	10%^[16]	524	24+/-4%	+14%^[16]	-26%
	Government Positive	13%^[16]	9%^[16]	14%^[16]	524	8+/-2%	-6%^[16]	-22%
	Government Negative	37%^[16]	46%^[16]	30%^[16]	524	50+/-4%	+20%^[16]	+26%
Italy	People Positive	24%	28%	25%	523	26+/-4%	+1%	+9%
	People Negative	6%	3%^[16]	5%	523	4+/-2%	-1%	-5%
	Government Positive	19%	17%	17%	523	17+/-3%	--	-9%
	Government Negative	5%	6%	7%	523	9+/-3%	+2%	+5%
France	People Positive	29%	31%	28%	562	26+/-4%	-2%	+10%
	People Negative	5%^[16]	8%^[16]	8%	562	8+/-2%	--	-7%
	Government Positive	20%^[16]	16%^[16]	15%	562	16+/-3%	+1%	-10%
	Government Negative	11%^[16]	20%^[16]	15%^[16]	562	15+/-3%	--	+7%
Russia	People Positive	25%^[16]	--	20%	591	18+/-3%	-2%	+7%
	People Negative	6%	--	6%	591	7+/-2%	+1%	-15%
	Government Positive	17%	--	15%	591	11+/-3%	-4%^[16]	-7%
	Government Negative	23%	--	21%	591	22+/-3%	+1%	+15%
Malaysia	People Positive	--	33%	--	--	--	--	--
	People Negative	--	6%	--	--	--	--	--
	Government Positive	--	22%	--	--	--	--	--
	Government Negative	--	14%	--	--	--	--	--

[12] All error figures in the table are calculated at 95% confidence level. "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.
[13] Collapsed from a 5-point scale.
[14] The sample size for each question varies, but has been controlled to no less than 500. Corresponding sampling errors have all been given.
[15] Comparison made with survey findings of 10-15/11/09.
[16] 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 the first half of May showed that, as regards the results of people's feeling towards different peoples, 44% felt positive towards the HKSAR people while 10% felt negative. For the other cross-strait regions, the corresponding positive figures for the Mainland, Taiwan and Macau SAR peoples were 26%, 42% and 40%, while the corresponding negative figures were 22%, 8% and 4%. As for the peoples of other regions and countries, the positive figures for Singapore, Canada, Japan, and Australia were highest, with 57%, 50%, 48% and 46% respectively, while those for the United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany, the United States, Thailand, Italy and France were 38%, 38%, 33%, 33%, 30%, 26% and 26% correspondingly. Lastly, only 18% expressed positive feelings towards the people of Russia.

The latest survey also showed that, regarding the results of people's feeling towards different governments, 23% felt positive towards the HKSAR government while 26% felt negative. For the other cross-strait governments, the corresponding positive figures for the Mainland, Taiwan and Macau SAR governments were 32%, 19% and 34%, while the corresponding negative figures were 21%, 22% and 15%. As for other governments, the positive figures for Singapore, Canada and Australia were 57%, 45% and 42% respectively, while those for the United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany, the United States, Japan, Italy, France and Russia were 33%, 31%, 26%, 21%, 20%, 17%, 16% and 11% correspondingly. Lastly, only 8% expressed positive feelings towards the government of Thailand.

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, in order to let readers judge by themselves the reasons for the ups and downs of different opinion figures. In July 2007, POP collaborated with Wisers Information Limited whereby Wisers supplies to POP each day starting from July 24, a record of significant events of that day, according to the research method designed by POP. These daily entries would be uploaded to "Opinion Daily" as soon as they are verified by POP.

For the polling items covered in this press release, the previous survey was conducted from November 10 to 15, 2009 while this survey was conducted from May 7 to 12, 2010. During this period, 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.

5/5/10	The debt crisis in Europe affects the financial stability of the world.
1/5/10	Hong Kong and Macau demonstrates on the first of May.
30/4/10	The Shanghai World Expo 2010 opens.
15/4/10	The rescue of Qinhai earthquake continues.
14/4/10	The Constitutional Reform Proposal in 2012 is unveiled by HKSAR government.
10/4/10	Thai government takes military action to disperse "red shirt" protesters.
25/3/10	The Peterson Institute for International Economics in the US expresses Hong Kong should be labeled as a currency manipulator.
5/3/10	Many newspapers report and discuss the National People's Congress.
15/1/10	Beijing Government issues warning on the de facto referendum
14/1/10	The Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen concedes that the government had failed to communicate with the post-1980s generation.
25/12/09	Liu Xiaobo is sentenced to 11 years in prison for "incitement to subvert state power".
19/12/09	President Hu Jintao arrives Macau to attend the 10th anniversary ceremony, while some reporters from Hong Kong are banned to enter Macau.
5/12/09	Official opening ceremony of the East Asian Games in Hong Kong.
15/11/09	United States President Barack Obama arrives at Shanghai and kicks off his first visit to China.
14/11/09	President Hu Jintao gives his backing for the policy direction of CE Donald Tsang's Policy Address.

Commentary

Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of Public Opinion Programme, observed, "Our latest survey continues to show that Hong Kong people feel much more positively about other peoples than their governments, with the exception of Mainland China and Singapore. Regarding the four cross-strait societies, Hong Kong people's positive feeling towards the Taiwan people is 23 percentage points higher than that of the Taiwan government, that towards fellow Hong Kong people is 21 percentage points higher than that towards the Hong Kong SAR Government, and that towards the Macau people is 6 percentage points higher than that of the Macau SAR Government. However, their positive feeling towards Mainland Chinese people is 6 percentage points lower than that of the Mainland Chinese government. As for countries and regions outside the cross-strait regions, Hong Kong people's positive feeling towards the people of Japan is 28 percentage points higher than that of the Japanese government, that towards the people of Thailand is 22 percentage points higher than that of the Thai government, that towards the people of the United States is 12 percentage points higher than that of the American government, that towards the people of France is 10 percentage points higher than that of the French government, while that towards the people and the government of Singapore are the same. In terms of absolute percentages, Hong Kong people seem to dislike the governments of Thailand, the United States, Russia, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan 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 negative feeling towards the Thai government has rocketed by 20 percentage points, that towards the government of Hong Kong, Mainland China and the United States have all increased by 6 percentage points and that towards the government of Macau has increased by 4 percentage points. Meanwhile, it is also worth noting that Hong Kong people's negative feeling towards the Thai people has also surged by 14 percentage points and that towards the Singaporean people has risen by 3 percentage points. Regarding such changes, readers can make their own judgment using detailed records shown in our "Opinion Daily" feature page. 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."

Future Release (Tentative)

May 25, 2010 (Tuesday) 1pm to 2pm: Popularity of CE and SARG