With the 15th anniversary of the city's handover approaching, the latest trust and confidence survey released by the University of Hong Kong shows that 37 per cent of people mistrust the central government - the highest level since 1997, when it was 44 per cent.
The poll also found that the younger the respondents, the more mistrust they had. The highest level was among those aged between 18 and 29 - 51 per cent. Among those aged 30 to 49, it was 40 per cent, and for those aged 50 and above, 28 per cent.
The rise was obviously triggered by the violation of human rights in the treatment of a number of dissidents such as blind activist Chen Guangcheng and Tiananmen activist Li Wangyang , whose recent suspicious death stirred a public outcry. These incidents, as expected, struck a chord with Hongkongers because they concerned some of their most cherished core values, such as freedom, rule of law and human rights.
There is most concern over the case of Li, who was deaf, blind and suffered from ill health. His so-called suicide came after being interviewed by the media.
The majority of Hongkongers were angered and revolted by the vulgar way in which the case was handled by the mainland authorities.
Since the handover, ties between Hong Kong and the mainland have grown deeper and broader. But, at the same time, this relationship has created a certain degree of conflict because of the intrinsic differences in political, financial, social and cultural backgrounds and development.