HKTV row sends Hong Kong government's ratings to all-time low
HKTV licence row turns voters off the administration, with satisfaction even lower than 2003 at time of mass protest against national security law
Hongkongers' satisfaction with their government has fallen to an all-time low and public outrage over free-television licensing is partly to blame, a University of Hong Kong pollster says.
Public sentiment is now lower than in 2003, when seething anger over the proposed Article 23 national security law led to a 500,000-strong march, an index compiled by the HKU public opinion programme shows.
The government, meanwhile, sought to fend off accusations of a policy change that allegedly contributed to its decision to grant licences to only two instead of all three applicants.
The decision left Hong Kong Television Network, chaired by high-profile investor Ricky Wong Wai-kay, out of the market, causing tens of thousands of people to protest at the government headquarters in Admiralty last week.
"Recent major events, especially the issuance of free-television licences, are of course closely related to the changes in the Public Sentiment Index," said Edward Tai Chit-fai, senior data analyst for the programme.
The index, compiled every two weeks to gauge the likelihood of collective action by the public, fell to 62.2 on a scale of 0-200 between October 14 and 27.