The illegal structures scandal that has engulfed incoming chief executive Leung Chun-ying has undermined both his integrity and suitability to serve as the city's next chief executive, according to a survey released yesterday.
About 70 per cent of the 529 respondents questioned on Monday and Tuesday thought the incident had had a negative impact on Leung's integrity, according to the latest poll, commissioned by The South China Morning Post.
The poll, Conducted by the University of Hong Kong, found 51.8 per cent of interviewees said the saga had negatively affected Leung's suitability to serve as chief executive.
About 21 per cent said the row did not affect their perception of Leung's integrity, while 39 per cent said Leung's suitability as chief executive was not undermined. The percentage of people seeing a positive effect on both Leung's integrity and suitability stood at 6.1 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively.
A separate HKU poll, released yesterday, found Leung's support rating had slid to a new low of 51.3 marks out of 100 since his March election victory, a decrease of 2.8 marks.
HKU pollster Dr Robert Chung Ting-yiu said: 'I guess the lesson he needs to learn is that his popularity base is not yet solid, so he will need to be very patient and encompassing in rebuilding people's trust in him.'
The results came as leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping met Leung and outgoing Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in Beijing yesterday and called for a smooth transition. The vice-president praised Tsang for being 'proactive and pragmatic' in his seven-year tenure.