Overwhelming majority of Hongkongers want Occupy protests to end: survey

Nearly 83 per cent of Hongkongers want the Occupy Central protests to stop, while more than two-thirds believe the government should clear the protest sites, a University of Hong Kong survey has found.

Almost 55 per cent of 513 respondents interviewed by the university's public opinion programme on Monday and Tuesday said they opposed the civil disobedience movement, while 28 per cent supported it.

And 82.9 per cent said the protests, now in their eighth week, should end, while 13 per cent said they should continue. Another 4.1 per cent replied "don't know/hard to say".

The survey findings were released a day after Dr Chan Kin-man, a co-founder of Occupy Central, urged protesters to consider ending their road blockades and instead refocus on winning the long-term support of the public.

More than 68 per cent of the respondents said the Hong Kong government should clear the protest sites, while 25.1 per cent said it should maintain the "status quo". Another 6.8 per cent said "don't know/hard to say".

The survey had a response rate of 65.9 per cent, a sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 per cent.