Taking the pulse of the people of Hong Kong has become so commonplace, even the patients could be excused for becoming desensitised. Scarcely a day goes by when there is no report of the findings of the latest survey or poll on political and livelihood issues.
The issues under scrutiny are as multi-faceted as the surveying bodies are widely diversified. But from established academic research think-tanks and search engines to private pressure groups, the aims - to gather opinions and statistics, using different methods from family visits and telephone interviews to straw polls in the street - differ little.
The regular bombardment of polls, however, has attracted criticism from both the public and pundits alike on whether the results reached are reliable and credible. The question is, can we trust and believe in the surveys? Robert Chung Ting-yiu, pollster of the Social Science Research Centre of the University of Hong Kong, believes the culture of public opinion polls in the territory is yet to mature.
'A lot of people said that polls were done with a political objective in mind, such as when we asked people to evaluate Deng Xiaoping's deeds. Some conservatives also regarded the polls as tools to create waves of opinions on an issue,' Mr Chung said.
Doubts surrounding the neutrality of poll findings came to a head during the chief executive contest last year, as critics charged that the frequently-publicised approval ratings for the candidates played a part in fostering support for candidates and eventually the victory of Tung Chee-hwa.
Mr Chung, who has been involved in the work of the centre since its formation in 1985, said poll results should be regarded only as a neutral frame of reference.