HKU POP releases findings on people’s feeling towards different governments and peoplesBack

Press Release on June 5, 2012

Special Announcements

(1) The "PopCon" e-platform (http://popcon.hk) hosted by the Public Opinion Programme (POP) at the University of Hong Kong has already added an "Opinion Forum" page. Users are welcome to share personal opinions on latest social issues, and to win prizes with the credits earned. Current topics of the Forum include Donald Tsang visiting Picaso exhibition, whether the “Prevention of Bribery Ordinance” should be applicable to Chief Executive as well as opinions on column article “The Difference in Popularity Polls of CE-elect”. Moreover, the platform has established a brand new “Prizes every month” scheme since May 29, with cut-off date on the 23rd each month. The first prize of June will be a soon-to-publish commemorative book on “3.23 PopVote project”.

(2) The column article entitled “Opinion Poll on HK People’s Ethnic Identity” (short version and in Chinese only for the time being) written by the Director of POP Robert Chung was released yesterday. The media is welcome to carry or report the article in full or in part any time, all copyrights open. POP will uploaded the article at the “HKU POP Site” (http://hkupop.pori.hk) and the “PopCon” website later on.

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 in May, by means of random telephone interviews conducted by real interviewers. The survey shows that Hong Kong people feel much more positively about other peoples than their governments, with the exception of Mainland China. Regarding the four cross-strait societies, Hong Kong people’s positive feeling towards fellow Hong Kong people is 28 percentage points higher than that towards the Hong Kong SAR Government, that towards Taiwan people is 19 percentage points higher than that of the Taiwan government, that towards Macau people is 1 percentage point higher than that towards the Macau government. However, their positive feelings towards the people and the government of Mainland China are the same. As for countries and regions outside the cross-strait regions, Hong Kong people’s positive feeling towards the people of Japan is 36 percentage points higher than their government, that towards the people of the United States is 18 percentage points higher than their government, that towards the people of Thailand is 17 percentage points higher than their government. In terms of absolute percentages and ranked by net values, Hong Kong people seem to dislike the governments of the Philippines, Japan, the United States, Thailand and France whereas they seem to like all peoples rather than dislike them, except with the peoples of Mainland China and the Philippines. These findings are worth studying by various governments. It should be noted that compared to half a year ago, Hong Kong people’s positive feeling towards local SAR government has significantly dropped by 17 percentage points, back to the level registered in November 2010. Moreover, people’s negative feeling towards the governments of Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China and the Philippines are at their new high since 1997. These findings are also worth studying. 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. 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 67%.

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 1,026 successful interviews, not 1,027 x 65.9% response rate, while the sample size of the second stage rating survey is 1,052 successful interviews, not 1,052 x 67.3% 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 tenth 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 2011 year-end. Herewith the contact information for the latest survey:

Date of survey	Overall sample size	Response rate	Sampling error of percentages ^[6]
15-18/5/2012 (First stage naming survey)	1,026	65.9%	+/-3%
23-30/5/2012 (Second stage opinion survey)	1,052	67.3%	+/-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 May 15 to 18, 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 23 to 30. 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		8-12/11/10	12-16/5/11	23/11-1/12/11	23-30/5/12
Sample base		1,003	1,000	1,055	1,052
Overall response rate		67.1%	65.5%	69.6%	67.3%
Feeling towards different governments / peoples ^[8]		Finding	Finding	Finding	Base^[9]	Finding and error [7]	Latest change^[10]	Difference with gov’ts / peoples
Hong Kong	People Positive	50%^[11]	39%^[11]	53%^[11]	540	51+/-4%	-2%	+28%
	People Negative	7%^[11]	9%	8%	540	8+/-2%	--	-28%
	Government Positive	24%	20%^[11]	40%^[11]	540	23+/-4%	-17%^[11]	-28%
	Government Negative	22%	27%^[11]	25%	540	36+/-4%	+11%^[11]	+28%
Mainland	People Positive	33%^[11]	23%^[11]	23%	547	28+/-4%	+5%^[11]	0%
	People Negative	16%^[11]	28%^[11]	33%^[11]	547	29+/-4%	-4%	-3%
	Government Positive	33%	22%^[11]	33%^[11]	547	28+/-4%	-5%^[11]	0%
	Government Negative	22%	25%	28%	547	32+/-4%	+4%	+3%
Taiwan	People Positive	42%	48%^[11]	49%	570	57+/-4%	+8%^[11]	+19%
	People Negative	7%	5%	5%	570	5+/-2%	--	-6%
	Government Positive	19%	21%	28%^[11]	570	38+/-4%	+10%^[11]	-19%
	Government Negative	22%	15%^[11]	19%^[11]	570	11+/-3%	-8%^[11]	+6%
Macau	People Positive	44%	39%^[11]	44%^[11]	545	52+/-4%	+8%^[11]	+1%
	People Negative	2%^[11]	2%	3%	545	2+/-1%	-1%	-8%
	Government Positive	42%^[11]	39%	45%^[11]	545	51+/-4%	+6%^[11]	-1%
	Government Negative	9%^[11]	8%	9%	545	10+/-3%	+1%	+8%

[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 23/11-1/12/11.
[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 and negative feelings towards their people.

Date of survey			8-12/11/10	12-16/5/11	23/11-1/12/11	23-30/5/12
Sample base			1,003	1,000	1,055	1,052
Overall response rate			67.1%	65.5%	69.6%	67.3%
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		56%	58%	56%	583	61+/-4%	+5%^[16]	+2%
	People Negative		3%^[16]	3%	3%	583	4+/-2%	+1%	-3%
	Government Positive		54%	57%	55%	583	59+/-4%	+4%	-2%
	Government Negative		6%	6%	9%^[16]	583	7+/-2%	-2%	+3%
Japan	People Positive		35%^[16]	60%^[16]	55%^[16]	540	57+/-4%	+2%	+36%
	People Negative		15%^[16]	6%^[16]	8%	540	8+/-2%	--	-33%
	Government Positive		9%^[16]	26%^[16]	27%	540	21+/-4%	-6%^[16]	-36%
	Government Negative		52%^[16]	27%^[16]	33%^[16]	540	41+/-4%	+8%^[16]	+33%
Canada	People Positive	48%		44%^[16]	45%	596	52+/-4%	+7%^[16]	+4%
	People Negative	1%		<1%	2%	596	2+/-1%	--	-1%
	Government Positive	42%		42%	44%	596	48+/-4%	+4%	-4%
	Government Negative	2%		1%	2%	596	3+/-1%	+1%	+1%
Australia	People Positive		44%	46%	43%	550	50+/-4%	+7%^[16]	+8%
	People Negative		3%	2%	3%	550	2+/-1%	-1%	-2%
	Government Positive		39%	39%	36%	550	42+/-4%	+6%^[16]	-8%
	Government Negative		3%	2%	5%^[16]	550	4+/-2%	-1%	+2%
South Korea	People Positive		40%	35%^[16]	42%^[16]	566	49+/-4%	+7%^[16]	+14%
	People Negative		7%	5%	7%	566	7+/-2%	--	-7%
	Government Positive		30%	25%^[16]	31%^[16]	566	35+/-4%	+4%	-14%
	Government Negative		12%	10%	11%	566	14+/-3%	+3%	+7%
United Kingdom	People Positive		38%	40%	45%^[16]	528	45+/-4%	--	+1%
	People Negative		6%	4%	6%	528	5+/-2%	-1%	-4%
	Government Positive		36%	35%	37%	528	44+/-4%	+7%^[16]	-1%
	Government Negative		12%	10%	12%	528	9+/-3%	-3%	+4%
Thailand	People Positive		35%^[16]	27%^[16]	37%^[16]	545	41+/-4%	+4%	+17%
	People Negative		17%^[16]	14%	9%^[16]	545	11+/-3%	+2%	-19%
	Government Positive		15%^[16]	12%	17%^[16]	545	24+/-4%	+7%^[16]	-17%
	Government Negative		41%^[16]	33%^[16]	29%	545	30+/-4%	+1%	+19%
Germany	People Positive		33%	32%	34%	527	39+/-4%	+5%^[16]	+3%
	People Negative		2%	2%	4%	527	4+/-2%	--	-4%
	Government Positive		28%	26%	30%	527	36+/-4%	+6%^[16]	-3%
	Government Negative		3%	3%	6%^[16]	527	8+/-2%	+2%	+4%
USA	People Positive		35%	35%	35%	571	38+/-4%	+3%	+18%
	People Negative		10%	7%^[16]	12%^[16]	571	12+/-3%	--	-25%
	Government Positive		18%	16%	17%	571	20+/-3%	+3%	-18%
	Government Negative		39%^[16]	35%	40%^[16]	571	37+/-4%	-3%	+25%
France	People Positive		28%	25%	27%	549	32+/-4%	+5%^[16]	+14%
	People Negative		7%	6%	7%	549	10+/-3%	+3%	-9%
	Government Positive		16%	13%	14%	549	18+/-3%	+4%^[16]	-14%
	Government Negative		14%	12%	16%^[16]	549	19+/-3%	+3%	+9%
Italy	People Positive		28%	20%^[16]	22%	562	24+/-4%	+2%	+7%
	People Negative		3%	6%^[16]	9%^[16]	562	8+/-2%	-1%	-6%
	Government Positive		17%	11%^[16]	11%	562	17+/-3%	+6%^[16]	-7%
	Government Negative		9%	13%^[16]	18%^[16]	562	14+/-3%	-4%^[16]	+6%
The Philippines	People Positive	18%		--	17%	526	17+/-3%	--	+14%
	People Negative	29%		--	36%	526	38+/-4%	+2%	-45%
	Government Positive	2%		--	3%	526	3+/-1%	--	-14%
	Government Negative	79%		--	79%	526	83+/-3%	+4%^[16]	+45%

[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 23/11-1/12/11.
[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.

Our latest findings showed that, as regards the results of people’s feeling towards different peoples, 51% felt positive towards Hong Kong people themselves while 8% felt negative. For the other cross-strait regions, the corresponding positive figures for the Mainland, Taiwan and Macau peoples were 28%, 57% and 52%, while the corresponding negative figures were 29%, 5% and 2%. As for the peoples of other regions and countries, the positive figures for Singapore, Japan, Canada, Australia, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Thailand were highest, with 61%, 57%, 52%, 50%, 49%, 45% and 41% respectively, while those for the Germany, the United States, France and Italy were 39%, 38%, 32% and 24% correspondingly. Lastly, only 17% expressed positive feelings towards the people of the Philippines.

Regarding the results of people’s feeling towards different governments, 23% felt positive towards the HKSAR government while 36% felt negative. For the other cross-strait governments, the corresponding positive figures for the Mainland, Taiwan and Macau governments were 28%, 38% and 51%, while the corresponding negative figures were 32%, 11% and 10%. As for other governments, the positive figures for Singapore and Canada were 59% and 48% correspondingly, while those for the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and South Korea were 44%, 42%, 36% and 35% correspondingly, those for Thailand, Japan, the United States, France and Italy were 24%, 21%, 20%, 18% and 17% correspondingly. Lastly, only 3% expressed positive feelings towards the government of the Philippines.

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 23 to December 1, 2011 while this survey was conducted from May 23 to 30, 2012. 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.

2/5/12	Blind activist Chen Guangcheng seeks protection in US embassy after fleeing house arrest.
11/4/12	Ousted Chongqing Communist Party chief Bo Xilai is accused of covering up his wife Gu Kailai's the murder of a British businessman.
25/3/12	Leung Chun Ying wins the Chief Executive election with 689 votes.
15/3/12	Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang replaces Bo Xilai as the Secretary of Municipal Committee of the CPC in Chongqing.
14/3/12	Premier Wen Jiabao speaks about Hong Kong's chief executive election for the first time.
8/3/12	Vice President Xi Jinping meets with Hong Kong delegates in Beijing.
21/1/12	Beijing University professor Kong Qingdong comment many Hong Kong people are dogs.
14/1/12	Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou, was elected to a second term.
22/12/11	Riots occurred in Shantou as people oppose to build power plant.
6/12/11	Baby milk powder of a Japanese brand Meiji found to contain radioactive substances.

Commentary

Note: The following commentary was written by Director of POP Robert Chung.

Our latest survey shows that Hong Kong people feel much more positively about other peoples than their governments, with the exception of Mainland China. Regarding the four cross-strait societies, Hong Kong people’s positive feeling towards fellow Hong Kong people is 28 percentage points higher than that towards the Hong Kong SAR Government, that towards Taiwan people is 19 percentage points higher than that of the Taiwan government, that towards Macau people is 1 percentage point higher than that towards the Macau government. However, their positive feelings towards the people and the government of Mainland China are the same.

As for countries and regions outside the cross-strait regions, Hong Kong people’s positive feeling towards the people of Japan is 36 percentage points higher than their government, that towards the people of the United States is 18 percentage points higher than their government, that towards the people of Thailand is 17 percentage points higher than their government. In terms of absolute percentages and ranked by net values, Hong Kong people seem to dislike the governments of the Philippines, Japan, the United States, Thailand and France whereas they seem to like all peoples rather than dislike them, except with the peoples of Mainland China and the Philippines. These findings are worth studying by various governments.

It should be noted that compared to half a year ago, Hong Kong people’s positive feeling towards local SAR government has significantly dropped by 17 percentage points, back to the level registered in November 2010. Moreover, people’s negative feeling towards the governments of Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China and the Philippines are at their new high since 1997. These findings are also worth studying. As for other reasons affecting the ups and downs of various figures, 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)

June 12, 2012 (Tuesday) 1pm to 2pm: Popularity of CE, CE-elect and Principal Officials