Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s popularity on the rise – but so is dissatisfaction
HKU survey reveals no cabinet official scores high enough to be called ‘ideal’
The results released on Tuesday found 52 per cent of Hongkongers had confidence in the city’s top official – two percentage points higher than her score in a similar survey two weeks earlier.
But the proportion of Hongkongers who were unsatisfied with Lam grew two percentage points also, with 37 per cent saying they had no confidence in the leader.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam at highest popularity since she was elected four months ago: poll
Around 800 people with landlines were contacted between August 2 and 7 by the University of Hong Kong’s Public Opinion Programme. The programme regularly conducts surveys on the popularity of public officials. The survey had a margin of error of 3 per cent.
Lam scored 59 out of 100 for popularity, half a percentage point higher than her tally for the previous survey. But the mark was still lower than her highest rating as chief executive – 63.7 – recorded at the start of her term, which kicked off on July 1.
The city’s most popular minister was Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah, with 42 per cent of Hongkongers saying they had confidence in him. Only 7 per cent said they had no confidence in him.
The programme’s senior data analyst, Edward Tai Chit-fai, said no official was an “ideal” performer, defined as an approval rating exceeding 66 per cent. Lam was categorised as “successful” because her approval rating exceeded 50 per cent.
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Lam has faced a number of thorny political issues since her term began.