JOYCE.NG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Monday, 04 January, 2016, 7:47pm
UPDATED : Monday, 04 January, 2016, 8:40pm
Expectations are low for the forthcoming policy address by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. Photo: Nora Tam
Almost half the interviewees in a survey say they do not have any expectations for the upcoming policy address by the chief executive.
However “people’s livelihood and welfare” is a key concern, with 23.4 per cent of the 723 interviewees saying it should be a priority.
The telephone survey was conducted by Chinese University’s Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies in December – a monthly exercise to track people’s satisfaction with the administration.
While 46.5 per cent said they did not have any expectations for Leung Chun-ying’s fourth policy address – his last chance to announce and execute a full year of initiatives before seeking for re-election next year – 41.2 per cent said they had “some” expectation. Only 7.3 per cent said they had “great expectations” for the blueprint.
When asked what should be the priority in the policy speech, livelihood and welfare overtook “housing and planning” and “governance and constitutional development” as the most cited concern. In last year’s survey, the latter two were the two most cited priorities.
With many of Leung’s past promises yet to be delivered, commentators believe the policy document on January 13 will be more of a conclusional and forward-looking address than one offering new policies.
Meanwhile, ratings for Leung and his cabinet remain low. Interviewees gave Leung an average score of 41.5 out of 100, almost identical to the previous month.
The average score for Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor stood at 52.8, with Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah on 60.5, and for Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen 47.7.
About one third of respondents expressed “distrust” in Leung’s administration, while 22.1 per cent said they trusted it, with 44.8 per cent answering “in-between”.
The level of trust in the central government is even lower, with only 21.9 per cent indicating trust, 37.1 per cent not having any trust and 37.1 per cent saying “in-between”.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1897981/expectations-not-great-almost-half-people-surveyed-dont-hold
