Speakers:
Kim-Wah Chung – Deputy CEO, HKPORI
K.H. Cheng – Senior Media person, Radio Current Affairs Commentator and Adjunct Professor of Journalism and Communication
Wai-Ho Yam – Vice Chairman of The Hong Kong Chamber of Education Centres
Edward Tai – Manager (Data Science), HKPORI
Detailed Findings
Special Announcement
The predecessor of Hong Kong Public Opinion Program (HKPOP) was The Public Opinion Programme at The University of Hong Kong (HKUPOP). “POP” in this release can refer to HKPOP or its predecessor HKUPOP.
Abstract
POP successfully interviewed 1,000 and 1,036 Hong Kong residents respectively by random telephone surveys conducted by real interviewers in September. Our survey shows that among various types of news media, the internet and television remain to be people’s main sources of news. Among them, the percentages of people using television and newspaper as their main sources of news have both registered another all-time low since record began in 1993. As for trustworthiness, people continue to find television and internet to be the most trustworthy source of news. The trust level of internet has, however, dropped significantly compared to half a year ago. Net satisfaction with the freedom of the press in Hong Kong stands at negative 18 percentage points, while the net value of people perceiving the local news media to be responsible in their reporting is at negative 12 percentage points. The net value of people who thought the local news media had practiced self-censorship stands at positive 17 percentage points, registering a record low since 2013. On a scale of 0-10, the credibility rating of the Hong Kong news media is 4.81 marks, a significant drop from half a year ago, and has registered another all-time low since record began in 1997. As for the popularity of Executive Councillors, people’s most familiar non-official Executive Councillor continues to be Regina Ip. In terms of absolute ratings, Joseph Yam ranked first, attaining 45.6 marks. Regina Ip ranked second, with 40.5 marks, representing a significant rise from half a year ago. The 3rd to 5th ranks went to Ronny Tong, Arthur Li and Tommy Cheung, who attained 34.6, 34.2 and 30.7 marks respectively. Among them, the rating of Arthur Li has registered an all-time low since record began in 2012. Meanwhile, Bernard Chan obtained a support rating of 37.4 marks, but he was dropped due to his relatively low recognition rate. The effective response rates of the surveys are 44.2% and 44.1% respectively. The maximum sampling error of percentages is +/-4%, that of net values is +/-7% and that of ratings is +/-2.6 at 95% confidence level.
Contact Information
| Executive Councillors Naming | Appraisal of News Media and Executive Councillors Rating |
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| Date of survey | : | 6-10/9/2021 | 16-23/9/2021 |
| Sample size[1] | : | 1,000 (including 500 landline and 500 mobile samples) | 1,036 (including 517 landline and 519 mobile samples) |
| Effective response rate | : | 44.2% | 44.1% |
| Survey method | : | Random telephone survey conducted by real interviewers | |
| Target population | : | Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong residents aged 18 or above | |
| Sampling error[2] | : | Sampling error of percentages not more than +/-4%, that of net values not more than +/-7% and that of ratings not more than +/-2.6 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)”. | |
[1] 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.
[2] 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.
Appraisal of News Media
Latest results of the news media survey are tabulated as follows:
| Date of survey | 15-20/8/19 | 2-3/3/20 | 25/9-8/10/20 | 22-25/3/21 | 16-23/9/21 | Latest change |
| Sample size[3] | 548-683 | 503 | 1,006 | 542-658 | 636-660 | — |
| Response rate | 68.5% | 64.0% | 57.9% | 56.8% | 44.1% | — |
| Latest findings | Finding | Finding | Finding | Finding | Finding & error | — |
| People’s main source of news: | ||||||
| Internet | 74% | 76% | 70%[5] | 70% | 64+/-4% | -6%[5] |
| Television | 66% | 68% | 66% | 64% | 60+/-4% | -3% |
| Newspapers | 42%[5] | 38% | 37% | 37% | 28+/-4% | -9%[5] |
| Radio | 37%[5] | 40% | 27%[5] | 29% | 24+/-3% | -5% |
| Friends | 28%[5] | 27% | 18%[5] | 22% | 16+/-3% | -5%[5] |
| Most trustworthy source of news: | — | |||||
| Television | 25%[5] | 29% | 29% | 26% | 29+/-4% | +3% |
| Internet | 31%[5] | 29% | 28% | 30% | 23+/-3% | -6%[5] |
| Radio | 14% | 17% | 9%[5] | 12%[5] | 12+/-3% | — |
| Newspapers | 9%[5] | 10% | 12% | 14% | 9+/-2% | -5%[5] |
| Family members | 5% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 6+/-2% | +1% |
| Satisfaction rate of freedom of the press in HK[4] |
51% | 33%[5] | 29% | 35%[5] | 31+/-4% | -4% |
| Dissatisfaction rate of freedom of the press in HK[4] |
33% | 54%[5] | 54% | 48%[5] | 48+/-4% | — |
| Net satisfaction rate | 18% | -21%[5] | -25% | -13%[5] | -18+/-7% | -5% |
| Mean value[4] | 3.2 | 2.6[5] | 2.5 | 2.7[5] | 2.5+/-0.1 | -0.1 |
| Perceived that the local news media: | — | |||||
| Were responsible in their reporting[4] | 40%[5] | 28%[5] | 19%[5] | 24%[5] | 24+/-3% | — |
| Were irresponsible in their reporting[4] | 30%[5] | 36%[5] | 35% | 41%[5] | 36+/-4% | -5% |
| Net value | 10%[5] | -8%[5] | -16% | -17% | -12+/-6% | +5% |
| Mean value[4] | 3.1[5] | 2.8[5] | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.8+/-0.1 | +0.1 |
| Had practiced self-censorship | 59% | 56% | 50%[5] | 53% | 50+/-4% | -3% |
| Had not practiced self-censorship | 29% | 33% | 30% | 31% | 33+/-4% | +1% |
| Net value | 31% | 23% | 20% | 22% | 17+/-7% | -4% |
| Credibility rating of the local news media (0-10) | 5.81 | 5.49[5] | 5.14[5] | 5.08 | 4.81+/-0.17 | -0.27[5] |
[3] Before March 2020, weighted count was used to report subsample size. Starting from March 2020, raw count was used instead.
[4] Collapsed from a 5-point scale. The mean value is calculated by quantifying all individual responses into 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 marks according to their degree of positive level, where 1 is the lowest and 5 the highest, and then calculate the sample mean.
[5] 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 our news media survey show that 64% and 60% of the respondents claimed their main sources of news were internet and television respectively. The latter has registered another all-time low since record began in 1993. Besides, 28% and 24% respectively said their main sources of news were newspapers and radio. The former has also registered another all-time low since record began in 1993. As for trustworthiness, 29% and 23% of the respondents respectively found television and internet to be the most trustworthy source of news. The latter has dropped significantly compared to half a year ago.
Results also show that 31% of the respondents were satisfied with the freedom of the press in Hong Kong while 48% were dissatisfied, giving a net satisfaction of negative 18 percentage points. The mean value is 2.5, meaning between “half-half” and “quite dissatisfied” in general. Meanwhile, 24% perceived the local news media to be responsible in their reporting, 36% regarded the local news media as irresponsible, giving a net value of negative 12 percentage points. The mean value is 2.8, meaning close to “half-half” in general. In addition, 50% of the respondents thought the local news media had practiced self-censorship while 33% perceived the opposite, giving a net value of positive 17 percentage points, registering a record low since 2013. On a scale of 0-10, the credibility rating of the Hong Kong news media is 4.81 marks, a significant drop from half a year ago, and has registered another all-time low since record began in 1997.
Popularity of Executive Councillors
In the naming survey, respondents could name, unprompted, up to 5 non-official Executive Councillors whom they knew best. The findings of the naming survey are summarized below, in descending order of naming rates [6]:
| Date of survey | 17-18/3/20 | 31/8-1/9/20 | 8-12/3/21 | 6-10/9/21 | Latest change in ranking |
| Sample size | 502 | 508 | 538 | 629 | — |
| Response rate | 60.1% | 61.4% | 47.6% | 44.2% | — |
| Latest findings[7] | Finding | Finding | Finding | Finding & error | — |
| Regina Ip | 32%{1} | 34%{1} | 30%{1} | 20+/-3%{1} | — |
| Ronny Tong | 12%{3} | 14%{3} | 12%{3} | 10+/-2%{2} | ↑1 |
| Bernard Chan | 16%{2} | 15%{2} | 17%{2} | 10+/-2%{3} | ↓1 |
| Arthur Li | 1%{13} | 3%{8} | 2%{7} | 3+/-1%{4} | ↑3 |
| Tommy Cheung | 4%{5} | 7%{4} | 5%{4} | 2+/-1%{5} | ↓1 |
| Joseph Yam | 1%{12} | 4%{7} | 2%{9} | 2+/-1%{6} | ↑3 |
| Fanny Law | 3%{7} | 3%{9} | 2%{8} | 1+/-1%{7} | ↑1 |
| Laura Cha | 1%{11} | 2%{11} | <1%{14} | 1+/-1%{8} | ↑6 |
| Ip Kwok-him | 3%{6} | 5%{5} | 2%{6} | 1+/-1%{9} | ↓3 |
| Lam Ching-choi | 11%{4} | 4%{6} | 4%{5} | 1+/-1%{10} | ↓5 |
| Wong Kwok-kin | <1%{15} | 1%{12} | 1%{10} | 1+/-1%{11} | ↓1 |
| Jeffrey Lam | 1%{10} | <1%{16} | <1%{13} | 1+/-1%{12} | ↑1 |
| Horace Cheung | 2%{8} | 2%{10} | 1%{11} | <1+/-<1%{13} | ↓2 |
| Kenneth Lau | <1%{16} | <1%{14} | <1%{15} | <1+/-<1%{14} | ↑1 |
| Martin Liao | 1%{9} | <1%{15} | 1%{12} | <1+/-<1%{15} | ↓3 |
| Chow Chung-kong | <1%{14} | <1%{13} | 0%{16} | 0%{16} | — |
| Wrong answer | 14% | 11% | 13% | 8+/-2% | — |
| Don’t know/ hard to say |
59% | 55% | 58% | 72+/-4% | — |
[6] If the rounded figures are the same, numbers after the decimal point will be considered.
[7] Numbers in curly brackets { } indicate the rankings.
The naming survey showed that Regina Ip, Ronny Tong and Bernard Chan were named most frequently with naming rates of 20%, 10% and 10% respectively. Arthur Li, Tommy Cheung and Joseph Yam followed, with naming rates of 3%, 2% and 2% respectively. However, 8% made a wrong attempt at citing non-official Executive Councillors while 72% had no clue at all.
Those 6 who were named most frequently then entered the rating survey. In the rating survey, respondents were asked to rate individual councillors using a 0-100 scale, where 0 indicates absolutely no support, 100 indicates absolute support and 50 means half-half. After calculation, the bottom 1 councillor in terms of recognition rate was dropped; the remaining 5 were then ranked according to their support ratings to become the top 5 Executive Councillors. Recent ratings of the top 5 Executive Councillors are summarized below, in descending order of their ratings [8]:
| Date of survey | 19-20/3/20 | 2-4/9/20 | 22-25/3/21 | 16-23/9/21 | Latest change | |
| Sample size | 502 | 500 | 542-602 | 652-714 | — | |
| Response rate | 66.2% | 55.8% | 56.8% | 44.1% | — | |
| Latest findings[9] | Finding | Finding | Finding | Finding & error | Recognition rate | — |
| Joseph Yam | — | — | — | 45.6+/-2.5{1} | 79.7% | — |
| Regina Ip | 29.5{2} | 31.0{1} | 32.8{2} | 40.5+/-2.4{2} | 93.2% | +7.7[10] |
| Ronny Tong | 24.2{5} | 26.8{3} | 32.5{3}[10] | 34.6+/-2.5{3} | 81.9% | +2.2 |
| Arthur Li | — | — | — | 34.2+/-2.4{4} | 76.5% | — |
| Tommy Cheung | 24.7{3} | 26.6{5} | 27.9{5} | 30.7+/-2.4{5} | 72.8% | +2.8 |
| Bernard Chan | 31.1{1}[10] | 29.5{2} | 34.2{1}[10] | 37.4+/-2.6[11] | 66.2% | +3.2 |
| Ip Kwok-him | 24.6{4} | 26.7{4} | 30.0{4} | — | — | — |
| Lam Ching-choi | 28.8[11] | 30.1[11] | 31.6[11] | — | — | — |
[8] If the rounded figures are the same, numbers after the decimal point will be considered.
[9] Numbers in curly brackets { } indicate the rankings.
[10] 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.
[11] Recognition rates were comparatively low in the rating survey.
The rating survey showed that Joseph Yam was the most popularly supported non-official Executive Councillor, attaining 45.6 marks. Regina Ip ranked second, with 40.5 marks, representing a significant rise from half a year ago. The 3rd to 5th ranks went to Ronny Tong, Arthur Li and Tommy Cheung, who attained 34.6, 34.2 and 30.7 marks respectively. Among them, the rating of Arthur Li has registered an all-time low since record began in 2012. In this latest survey, Bernard Chan obtained a support rating of 37.4 marks, but he was dropped due to his relatively low recognition rate.
It should be noted, however, that our list of “top 5” only includes Executive Councillors who are best known to the public, ranked according to their support ratings. Other councillors may well have very high or low support ratings, but because they are relatively less well-known, they are not included in our final list.
Opinion Daily
In 2007, POP started collaborating with Wisers Information Limited whereby Wisers supplies to POP a record of significant events of that day according to the research method designed by POP. These daily entries would then become “Opinion Daily” after they are verified by POP.
For some of the polling items covered in this press release, the previous survey was conducted from 8 to 12 March, 2021 while this survey was conducted from 16 to 23 September, 2021. 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.
| 20/9/21 | 364 members of the Election Committee are elected. |
| 20/9/21 | Various property stocks plummet while rumour has it that the Central Government is putting pressure on Hong Kong property developers. |
| 19/9/21 | Election Committee Subsector Elections are held today. |
| 7/9/21 | The government resumes the Return2hk Scheme and will launch the Come2hk Scheme. |
| 31/8/21 | The government proposes amendments to relax requirements for non-locally trained doctors to practise in Hong Kong. |
| 29/8/21 | The government may launch a universal COVID-19 vaccination programme for all residents. |
| 26/8/21 | The Legislative Council passes waste-charging bill. |
| 24/8/21 | The government further amends the “Film Censorship Ordinance” to ban exhibition of films that are contrary to the interests of national security. |
| 23/8/21 | Officials from the Central Government explain the 14th five-year plan to Hong Kong government officials. |
| 18/8/21 | Police arrests four members of the HKU Students’ Union who allegedly advocated terrorism. |
| 15/8/21 | Civil Human Rights Front announces its disbandment. |
| 10/8/21 | The Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union announces it will be dissolved. |
| 4/8/21 | The government tightens requirements for the Return2hk scheme to prevent spread of the Delta variant from Macau. |
| 2/8/21 | The government requires four targeted groups to undergo regular testing at their own expense if they do not get vaccinated. |
| 1/8/21 | The government delivers the first batch of electronic consumption vouchers worth $2,000. |
| 31/7/21 | The Education Bureau terminates all working relations with Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union. |
| 30/7/21 | Tong Ying-kit is jailed for 9 years for inciting secession and terrorism. |
| 11/7/21 | Hong Kong confirms a case of coronavirus disease, leading to compulsory testing for tens of thousands of airport staff. |
| 6/7/21 | Police arrests nine people who allegedly plotted terrorist attacks. |
| 5/7/21 | Mainland and Hong Kong officials attend a legal forum on national security law. |
| 4/7/21 | Police arrests two people who allegedly incited violence online. |
| 3/7/21 | The government calls the July 1 stabbing a “lone wolf terrorist attack”. |
| 2/7/21 | A man kills himself after stabbing a police officer in Causeway Bay. |
| 25/6/21 | John Lee, Chris Tang and Raymond Siu are appointed as Chief Secretary, Secretary for Security and Commissioner of Police respectively. |
| 23/6/21 | Apple Daily prints one million copies of its final issue. |
| 17/6/21 | Police arrests senior executives of Apple Daily and freezes assets of the company under the national security law. |
| 11/6/21 | The government amends the “Film Censorship Ordinance” to ban exhibition of films that endanger national security. |
| 4/6/21 | Police locks down Victoria Park to prevent June 4 vigil. |
| 31/5/21 | The government plans to restrict unvaccinated persons from entering various premises. |
| 30/5/21 | The government and the business sector launch initiatives to encourage vaccination. |
| 28/5/21 | 10 famous democrats are convicted and jailed for 10.1 assembly. |
| 27/5/21 | The Legislative Council passes amendments to Hong Kong’s electoral system. |
| 25/5/21 | The government announces it will arrange vaccination for holders of the Exit-entry Permit and refugees. |
| 14/5/21 | The government freezes Jimmy Lai’s personal assets under the national security law. |
| 11/5/21 | The government purchases the broadcasting rights of the Tokyo Olympics for five television stations. |
| 7/5/21 | The government announces that vaccinated person can have shorter quarantine period. |
| 2/5/21 | The government plans to require foreign domestic helpers to be vaccinated to come to Hong Kong or renew contracts. |
| 30/4/21 | The government imposes mandatory testing for all foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong. |
| 27/4/21 | The government relaxes some anti-epidemic measures with “vaccine bubble” as the basis. |
| 23/4/21 | Former member of Hong Kong National Front is jailed for 12 years for possessing explosives. |
| 16/4/21 | 9 famous democrats are convicted and jailed for 8.18 assembly. |
| 15/4/21 | The government holds “National Security Education Day”. |
| 13/4/21 | The government will make law to ban public call to not vote or cast blank or spoilt votes. |
| 29/3/21 | The government relaxes anti-epidemic measures. |
| 17/3/21 | The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the Liaison Office hold seminars on amending Hong Kong’s electoral system. |
Data Analysis
Our survey shows that among various types of news media, the internet and television remain to be people’s main sources of news. Among them, the percentages of people using television and newspaper as their main sources of news have both registered another all-time low since record began in 1993. As for trustworthiness, people continue to find television and internet to be the most trustworthy source of news. The trust level of internet has, however, dropped significantly compared to half a year ago.
Net satisfaction with the freedom of the press in Hong Kong stands at negative 18 percentage points, while the net value of people perceiving the local news media to be responsible in their reporting is at negative 12 percentage points. The net value of people who thought the local news media had practiced self-censorship stands at positive 17 percentage points, registering a record low since 2013. On a scale of 0-10, the credibility rating of the Hong Kong news media is 4.81 marks, a significant drop from half a year ago, and has registered another all-time low since record began in 1997.
As for the popularity of Executive Councillors, people’s most familiar non-official Executive Councillor continues to be Regina Ip. In terms of absolute ratings, Joseph Yam ranked first, attaining 45.6 marks. Regina Ip ranked second, with 40.5 marks, representing a significant rise from half a year ago. The 3rd to 5th ranks went to Ronny Tong, Arthur Li and Tommy Cheung, who attained 34.6, 34.2 and 30.7 marks respectively. Among them, the rating of Arthur Li has registered an all-time low since record began in 2012. Meanwhile, Bernard Chan obtained a support rating of 37.4 marks, but he was dropped due to his relatively low recognition rate.