Survey finds that Legco fails on two fronts – monitoring public expenditure and scrutinising the government’s performance
RAYMOND.YEUNG@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Sunday, 29 May, 2016, 6:07pm
Youngsters say they are not impressed with rowdy behaviour in the Legco chamber. Photo: Dickson Lee
Three out of four young Hongkongers are planning to cast their ballots in the Legislative Council elections in September, even though most are unhappy with the performance of the current lawmakers, a survey has found.
Over half of the respondents also sensed a frosty relationship between the government and Legco, with one quarter blaming Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
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The Federation of Youth Groups interviewed 539 people aged 18 to 34 last month on a range of questions on their views of Legco.
Asked if they were satisfied with the operation of the current-term legislature, 312, or 58.2 per cent, were either “not so satisfied” or “very dissatisfied”, compared with only 29.6 per cent who thought otherwise.
Respondents were then asked to grade – on a scale of zero to 10 with five as a pass – whether Legco had fulfilled its three main functions.
Lawmakers “failed” in two categories – monitoring public expenditure and scrutinising the government’s performance – scoring 4.55 and 4.56 respectively. The only function that passed was the promulgation of laws, with a score of 5.43.
On the merits of the legislature, 27.5 per cent agreed there was a diversity of voices in the chamber, although nearly 20 per cent did not see merit in this.
In terms of drawbacks, 32.7 per cent of respondents believed there was a lack of rational debate, and 29.4 per cent lamented disorderly conduct such as throwing objects or mass walkouts.
Fifty-six per cent of young people described the relationship between the executive and legislative branches as “bad” or “very bad”, compared to only 17 per cent who felt otherwise.
One in four said Leung was to blame for the icy relationship, although 48.7 per cent suggested both sides should bear responsibility.
But the pessimism did not deter youngsters from saying they would vote in the Legco polls on September 4, with 76.7 saying they would “definitely” or “likely” cast their ballots.
Of registered voters, 26.7 per cent said they would pick pan-democrat candidates, while 8.2 per cent would support those advocating independence. Only 5.5 per cent said they would choose pro-Beijing contenders.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1958635/three-out-four-hong-kong-youngsters-pledge-vote-legco
