by Tony Cheung tony.cheung@scmp.com
SCMP - Hong Kong feedToday, 18:17
As the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement ended this month, a university poll has found that more Hongkongers were inclined to support the government’s upcoming electoral reform package.
Chinese University researchers interviewed 1,011 people in the closing days of the protests from December 8 to 12, and 38 per cent said that the Legislative Council should approve the upcoming package in order to achieve universal suffrage for the chief executive in 2017. This is nine percentage points higher that three months ago.
The study found that 43 per cent said lawmakers should veto the package, 11 percentage points lower than in September.
The finding raises question about the public support of the Occupy Central protests, in which students and co-organisers endorsed the pan-democrat lawmakers’ plan to veto the government’s electoral reform package, to be tabled in Legco next year, if it follows the strict rules laid down by Beijing.
On August 31, the national legislature ruled that while Hong Kong could pick its leader by popular ballot in 2017, only two or three candidates backed by half of a 1,200-member nominating committee could run.
Student leaders at the core of the Occupy protests are calling on Beijing to scrap that decision as they say it deprives Hongkongers of a free choice of hopefuls.
Chinese University journalism professor Francis Lee declined to comment whether the results show the Occupy campaign has backfired to help the government’s cause, as the pollsters did not ask the respondents to explain their choice.
“But during a social movement, there would have been more discussion on the topic, and people’s choice would have firmer ground,” he said.
Lee also noted that among those respondents who identify themselves as “middle-neutral” or “no orientation”, less people believe that the package should be vetoed.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/66478/after-occupy-more-hongkongers-back-governments-reform-package-study
-- gReader
