Hongkongers consider public order and rule of law to be more important than democracy, survey shows
Some 1,010 residents gave democracy an importance rating of eight out of 10, the lowest among a number of social indicators
Hongkongers consider democracy to be the least important among 12 social indicators, with its eight out of 10 score falling behind public order and rule of law, a survey has found.
Respondents also rated the performance of democracy in the city as an unsatisfactory six out of 10, compared with public order, which scored 7.6, the highest performance rating given.
“It is now the low tide of democracy movements. We do not know if citizens [have become] discouraged and apathetic,” Dr Robert Chung Ting-Yiu, director of the Public Opinion Programme at the University of Hong Kong, who conducted the survey, said on Thursday.
“People may place less value [on democracy] as they do not have high hopes [of reaching democracy], for the sake of striking a psychological balance.”
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement was considered to be sagging after the Occupy movement in 2014. The 79-day protest failed to move Beijing to grant greater democracy and the city’s youth are now less interested in participating in political protests, it showed.
The survey, initiated by Project Citizens Foundation, interviewed 1,010 Hong Kong residents aged 18 or above.
Respondents were asked to rate the importance and actual performance of 12 social indicators, from zero to 10.