June 21, 2022
Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute Press Conference – Press Materials
Speakers:
Derek Yuen – Current Affairs Commentator
Paul Chi-Wai Wong – Lecturer, Faculty of Social Sciences, UOW College, HK
Detailed Findings
Special Announcements
The predecessor of Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (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.
PORI reviews and adjusts its work once every six months. Some changes have already been started after May 4 (i.e., PORI’s 3rd Anniversary), including reducing the frequency of press conferences and developing online civic education. In early June, we have officially kickstarted the “One Country Two Systems 25-year Mid-term Review”. The first phase of the review will take two months, in different forms of releases each week. We kickstarted with the popularity of officials, then June Fourth wrap-up last week, followed by this week’s ethnic identity, then handover anniversaries and society’s current condition, more details to be announced. Meanwhile, starting from July, we plan to reduce the frequency of our tracking surveys from twice a month to once a month, in order to conserve resources for civic education and mid-term review. Meanwhile, PORI would also like to stress the separation of comments from figures, so that the responsibility of all personal comments arising from our scientific research lies entirely on the commentators concerned, not PORI.
Abstract
PORI successfully interviewed 1,000 Hong Kong residents by a random telephone survey conducted by real interviewers from late May to early June. Our survey using independent rating questions that do not involve choosing one among identities show that whether in terms of strength rating, importance rating or identity index, the identity of “Hongkongers” continues to rank first, followed by “Asians”, “members of the Chinese race”, “global citizens”, “Chinese” and “citizens of the PRC”. Compared with half a year ago, the strength rating and identity index of “members of the Chinese race” as well as the importance ratings and identity indices of “Chinese” and “citizens of the PRC” have all increased significantly. Meanwhile, all three indicators of “members of the Chinese race” and “Chinese” have registered new highs since December 2018, while all those of “citizens of the PRC” have also reached new record highs since December 2016. On the other hand, the three indicators of “Hongkongers” have registered record lows since June 2017 again, while the identity index of “global citizens” has registered an all-time record low since December 2008. If we use a dichotomy of “Hongkonger” versus “Chinese” identity and ask people to make a choice among four identities, namely, “Hongkongers”, “Chinese”, “Chinese in Hong Kong” and “Hongkongers in China”, whether in their narrow and broad senses, the proportions of people identifying themselves as “Hongkongers” outnumber those of “Chinese”. The effective response rate of the survey is 39.8%. The maximum sampling error of percentages is +/-4% and that of ratings is +/-3.0 at 95% confidence level.
Contact Information
| Date of survey | : | 31/5-5/6/2021 |
| 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 500 landline and 500 mobile samples) |
| Effective response rate | : | 39.8% |
| Sampling error[2] | : | Sampling error of percentages not more than +/-4% and that of ratings not more than +/-3.0 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 2021”, while the educational attainment (highest level attended) distribution and economic activity status distribution came from “Women and Men in Hong Kong – Key Statistics (2021 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
Latest figures on Hong Kong people’s ratings on different identities are tabulated as follows:
| Date of survey | 1-4/6/20 | 7-10/12/20 | 7-10/6/21 | 29/11-3/12/21 | 31/5-5/6/22 | Latest change | |
| Sample size | 575-690 | 529-648 | 586-703 | 576-708 | 567-700 | — | |
| Response rate | 64.3% | 70.0% | 55.1% | 44.9% | 39.8% | — | |
| Latest findings[3] | Finding | Finding | Finding | Finding | Finding & error | — | |
| Hongkongers | Strength rating | 8.57 | 8.26[4] | 7.78[4] | 7.94 | 7.77+/-0.18 | -0.17 |
| Importance rating | 8.34 | 7.89[4] | 7.80 | 7.64 | 7.64+/-0.19 | — | |
| Identity index | 83.1 | 79.5[4] | 76.3[4] | 75.9 | 75.4+/-1.7 | -0.6 | |
| Asians | Strength rating | 7.83 | 7.84 | 7.74 | 7.79 | 7.74+/-0.21 | -0.05 |
| Importance rating | 6.89 | 6.65 | 6.56 | 6.62 | 6.57+/-0.23 | -0.05 | |
| Identity index | 72.3 | 70.1 | 69.1 | 69.8 | 69.3+/-2.1 | -0.5 | |
| Members of the Chinese race | Strength rating | 6.25 | 6.44 | 6.46 | 6.38 | 6.79+/-0.29 | +0.41[4] |
| Importance rating | 5.89 | 6.04 | 6.01 | 6.06 | 6.42+/-0.30 | +0.37 | |
| Identity index | 59.2 | 60.7 | 61.0 | 60.7 | 65.0+/-2.9 | +4.3[4] | |
| Global citizens | Strength rating | 6.93 | 6.97 | 6.79 | 6.86 | 6.62+/-0.23 | -0.24 |
| Importance rating | 6.64 | 6.53 | 6.45 | 6.45 | 6.30+/-0.23 | -0.15 | |
| Identity index | 66.6 | 66.5 | 64.8 | 65.0 | 63.3+/-2.0 | -1.7 | |
| Chinese | Strength rating | 5.74 | 5.93 | 6.02 | 6.13 | 6.52+/-0.29 | +0.38 |
| Importance rating | 5.50 | 5.40 | 5.59 | 5.61 | 6.18+/-0.31 | +0.57[4] | |
| Identity index | 54.6 | 54.9 | 56.0 | 56.8 | 61.5+/-3.0 | +4.7[4] | |
| Citizens of the PRC |
Strength rating | 4.90 | 5.16 | 5.30 | 5.71 | 6.14+/-0.31 | +0.43 |
| Importance rating | 4.77 | 4.99 | 5.08 | 5.32 | 5.95+/-0.30 | +0.63[4] | |
| Identity index | 46.8 | 49.3 | 50.5 | 53.6 | 59.1+/-3.0 | +5.5[4] | |
- “Identity index” is calculated for each respondent by taking the geometric mean of the strength and importance ratings and then multiplied by 10. If either the strength or importance rating of a respondent is missing, it is substituted by the sample mean.
- 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.
Results of independent rating questions that do not involve choosing one among identities show that whether in terms of strength rating, importance rating or identity index, the identity of “Hongkongers” continues to rank first, followed by “Asians”, “members of the Chinese race”, “global citizens”, “Chinese” and “citizens of the PRC”. The strength ratings are 7.77, 7.74, 6.79, 6.62, 6.52 and 6.14 respectively, while the importance ratings are 7.64, 6.57, 6.42, 6.30, 6.18 and 5.95 respectively. Taking the geometric mean of the strength and importance ratings of each respondent and then multiply it by 10, we have an “identity index” between 0 and 100, with 0 meaning no feeling and 100 meaning extremely strong feeling. The latest figures are 75.4, 69.3, 65.0, 63.3, 61.5 and 59.1 respectively. Compared with half a year ago, the strength rating and identity index of “members of the Chinese race” as well as the importance ratings and identity indices of “Chinese” and “citizens of the PRC” have all increased significantly. Meanwhile, all three indicators of “members of the Chinese race” and “Chinese” have registered new highs since December 2018, while all those of “citizens of the PRC” have also reached new record highs since December 2016. On the other hand, the three indicators of “Hongkongers” have registered record lows since June 2017 again, while the identity index of “global citizens” has registered an all-time record low since December 2008.
As for the results from the survey mode used for long on Hong Kong people’s sense of ethnic identity, latest figures are tabulated as follows:
| Date of survey | 1-4/6/20 | 7-10/12/20 | 7-10/6/21 | 29/11-3/12/21 | 31/5-5/6/22 | Latest change |
| Sample size | 602 | 639 | 605 | 609 | 627 | — |
| Response rate | 64.3% | 70.0% | 55.1% | 44.9% | 39.8% | — |
| Latest findings | Finding | Finding | Finding | Finding | Finding & error | — |
| Identified as “Hongkongers” | 50% | 44%[5] | 44% | 39% | 39+/-4% | — |
| Identified as “Chinese” | 13% | 15% | 13% | 18%[5] | 18+/-3% | — |
| Identified as “Chinese in Hong Kong” | 11% | 14% | 13% | 11% | 11+/-3% | — |
| Identified as “Hongkongers in China” | 25% | 25% | 28% | 31% | 31+/-4% | — |
| Identified as “Hongkongers” in broad sense |
75% | 69%[5] | 72% | 70% | 70+/-4% | — |
| Identified as “Chinese” in broad sense |
24% | 29%[5] | 26% | 28% | 29+/-4% | — |
| Identified with a mixed identity of “Hongkongers” and “Chinese” | 36% | 38% | 42% | 42% | 42+/-4% | — |
- 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.
If we use a dichotomy of “Hongkonger” versus “Chinese” identity and ask people to make a choice among four identities, namely, “Hongkongers”, “Chinese”, “Chinese in Hong Kong” and “Hongkongers in China”, 39% identified themselves as “Hongkongers”, 18% as “Chinese”, 11% as “Chinese in Hong Kong” and 31% as “Hongkongers in China”. In other words, 70% identified themselves as “Hongkongers” in a broad sense (i.e., either as “Hongkongers” or “Hongkongers in China”), 29% identified themselves as “Chinese” in a broad sense (i.e., either as “Chinese” or “Chinese in Hong Kong”), while 42% chose a mixed identity of “Hongkongers” and “Chinese” (i.e., either as “Chinese in Hong Kong” or “Hongkongers in China”). Whether in their narrow and broad senses, the proportions of people identifying themselves as “Hongkongers” outnumber those of “Chinese”. Compared with half a year ago, all the above figures have not changed much.
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 29 November to 3 December, 2021 while this survey was conducted from 30 May to 5 June, 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.
| 28/5/22 | The National Security Law Legal Forum is held in Hong Kong. |
| 27/5/22 | US Secretary of State delivers a speech on policy toward China. |
| 25/5/22 | The State Council holds a national conference on stabilising the economy. |
| 8/5/22 | John Lee is elected as the sixth Chief Executive of Hong Kong with overwhelming votes. |
| 18/4/22 | China’s GDP grows 4.8% year on year in the first quarter of 2022. |
| 16/4/22 | Astronauts of Shenzhou 13 safely return to the Earth. |
| 30/3/22 | Carrie Lam concedes anti-pandemic measures contributed to brain drain, but vows to defend Hong Kong’s international status. |
| 14/3/22 | The first batch of Mainland medical support team arrives in Hong Kong. |
| 11/3/22 | Li Keqiang attends press conference after conclusion of NPC and CPPCC sessions. |
| 18/2/22 | The Liaison Office holds a conference on jointly combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| 17/2/22 | First group of pandemic experts supporting Hong Kong from mainland China arrives. |
| 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 John Lee attends the second Mainland-Hong Kong thematic meeting on COVID-19 pandemic in Shenzhen. |
| 10/2/22 | As COVID-19 outbreak continues to grow, the Central Government voices full support to Hong Kong in combatting the pandemic. |
| 8/2/22 | The government tightens the anti-epidemic measures, limiting multi-household gatherings and launching vaccine pass. |
| 22/1/22 | The government announces new anti-epidemic measures after Kwai Chung Estate reported “geometric growth” in COVID-19 cases. |
| 18/1/22 | The government culls 2,000 animals after a hamster contracts COVID-19. |
| 17/1/22 | National Bureau of Statistics announces that China’s GDP grows 8.1% in 2021. |
| 29/12/21 | Stand News closes after seven senior staff members are arrested. |
| 6/12/21 | Xia Baolong says the “patriots administering Hong Kong” principle aims at achieving participation of people from diverse backgrounds. |
| 3/12/21 | The Tokyo Olympics Chinese delegation arrives in Hong Kong. |
Upcoming Press Releases / Press Conferences (Tentative)
- [Press Conference] June 24 (Friday) at 14:30
We Hongkongers: Voluntary Health Insurance
Guest commentators: Kim-wah Chung & Sung-ming Chow - [Press Release] June 28 (Tuesday) at 14:30
Wrap up on HKSAR anniversary survey, popularity figures of the government, Public Sentiment Index and five core social indicators - [Press Conference] July 5 (Tuesday) at 14:30
Wrap up on society’s current condition