Mar 22, 2022
Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute Press Conference – Press Materials
Speakers:
Kim-Wah Chung – Deputy CEO, HKPORI
Andy Yu – Former Vice-Chair, Yau Tsim Mong District Council
Online Commentator:
KC Poon – Independent Commentator
Detailed Findings
Special Announcement
The predecessor of Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institution (PORI) was The Public Opinion Programme at The University of Hong Kong (HKUPOP). “PORI” in this release can refer to Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute or its predecessor HKUPOP.
Abstract
PORI successfully interviewed 1,000 Hong Kong residents by a random telephone survey conducted by real interviewers in early March. Our survey shows that, on a scale of 0 to 10, people’s ratings on the five core social indicators ranked from the highest to the lowest are “freedom”, “rule of law”, “prosperity”, “democracy” and “stability”. Their scores are 4.92, 4.36, 3.98, 3.98 and 3.91 respectively. The ratings of “rule of law”, “prosperity” and “stability” have registered significant decreases compared with a month ago. Among them, the rating of “prosperity” has registered a record low since the survey series started in June 1997, while the rating of “stability” has registered a record low since September 2020. The effective response rate of the survey is 51.5%. The maximum sampling error of ratings is +/-0.25 at 95% confidence level.
Contact Information
| Date of survey | : | 7-11/3/2022 |
| Survey method | : | Random telephone survey conducted by real interviewers |
| Target population | : | Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong residents aged 18 or above |
| Sample size[1] | : | 1,000 (including 504 landline and 496 mobile samples) |
| Effective response rate | : | 51.5% |
| Sampling error[2] | : | Sampling error of ratings not more than +/-0.25 at 95% conf. level |
| Weighting method | : | Rim-weighted according to figures provided by the Census and Statistics Department. The gender-age distribution of the Hong Kong population came from “Mid-year population for 2020”, while the educational attainment (highest level attended) distribution and economic activity status distribution came from “Women and Men in Hong Kong – Key Statistics (2020 Edition)”. |
- This figure is the total sample size of the survey. Some questions may only involve a subsample, the size of which can be found in the tables below.
- All error figures in this release are calculated at 95% confidence level. “95% confidence level” means that if we were to repeat a certain survey 100 times with different random samples, we would expect 95 times having the population parameter within the respective error margins calculated. Because of sampling errors, when quoting percentages, journalists should refrain from reporting decimal places, whereas one decimal place can be used when quoting rating figures.
Latest Figures
Herewith the latest figures of the five core social indicators:
| Date of survey | 29/10-3/11/21 | 29/11-3/12/21 | 3-6/1/22 | 7-10/2/22 | 7-11/3/22 | Latest change |
| Sample size | 599-610 | 598-602 | 606-618 | 548-677 | 597-604 | — |
| Response rate | 50.1% | 44.9% | 52.7% | 58.1% | 51.5% | — |
| Latest findings | Finding | Finding | Finding | Finding | Finding & error | — |
| Degree of freedom | 5.18 | 4.82[3] | 4.57 | 5.09[3] | 4.92+/-0.25 | -0.17 |
| Compliance with the rule of law | 4.87 | 4.59 | 4.34 | 5.13[3] | 4.36+/-0.24 | -0.77[3] |
| Degree of prosperity | 5.35 | 4.77[3] | 4.89 | 4.97 | 3.98+/-0.21 | -0.99[3] |
| Degree of democracy | 4.16 | 3.94 | 3.93 | 4.25 | 3.98+/-0.25 | -0.27 |
| Degree of stability | 5.42 | 5.03[3] | 4.89 | 4.94 | 3.91+/-0.22 | -1.03[3] |
- The difference between the figure and the result from the previous survey has gone beyond the sampling error at 95% confidence level, meaning that the change is statistically significant prima facie. However, whether the difference is statistically significant is not the same as whether they are practically useful or meaningful, and different weighting methods could have been applied in different surveys.
On a scale of 0 to 10, people’s ratings on the five core social indicators ranked from the highest to the lowest are “freedom”, “rule of law”, “prosperity”, “democracy” and “stability”. Their scores are 4.92, 4.36, 3.98, 3.98 and 3.91 respectively. The ratings of “rule of law”, “prosperity” and “stability” have registered significant decreases compared with a month ago. Among them, the rating of “prosperity” has registered a record low since the survey series started in June 1997, while the rating of “stability” has registered a record low since September 2020.
Opinion Daily
In 2007, PORI started collaborating with Wisers Information Limited whereby Wisers supplies to PORI a record of significant events of that day according to the research method designed by PORI. These daily entries would then become “Opinion Daily” after they are verified by PORI.
For the polling items covered in this press release, the previous survey was conducted from 7 to 10 February, 2022 while this survey was conducted from 7 to 11 March, 2022. 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.
| 11/3/22 | Hong Kong’s epidemic situation persists and death toll rises sharply. |
| 7/3/22 | The government launches the “Declaration System for Individuals Tested Positive for COVID-19 Using Rapid Antigen Test”. |
| 4/3/22 | COVID-19 infections were reported in more than 70% of residential care homes. |
| 2/3/22 | Carrie Lam says citywide lockdown will not be imposed during compulsory universal testing. |
| 23/2/22 | The government delivers the new Budget, and will spend more than HK$170 billion on counter-cyclical measures. |
| 22/2/22 | The government announces the implementation of compulsory mass testing in March. |
| 21/2/22 | The government announces the implementation of the Vaccine Pass arrangement starting from February 24. |
| 18/2/22 | Carrie Lam announces the postponement of the Chief Executive Election to May 8 by invoking the Emergency Regulations Ordinance. |
| 12/2/22 | As COVID-19 outbreak continues to grow, Hong Kong reports 1,514 cases, registering a record high. |
| 11/2/22 | As COVID-19 outbreak continues to grow, a delegation led by Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee attends the second Mainland-Hong Kong thematic meeting on COVID-19 pandemic in Shenzhen. |
| 8/2/22 | The government tightens the anti-epidemic measures, limiting multi-household gatherings and launching vaccine pass. |
Data Analysis
Our survey shows that, on a scale of 0 to 10, people’s ratings on the five core social indicators ranked from the highest to the lowest are “freedom”, “rule of law”, “prosperity”, “democracy” and “stability”. Their scores are 4.92, 4.36, 3.98, 3.98 and 3.91 respectively. The ratings of “rule of law”, “prosperity” and “stability” have registered significant decreases compared with a month ago. Among them, the rating of “prosperity” has registered a record low since the survey series started in June 1997, while the rating of “stability” has registered a record low since September 2020.