No love lost for Leung or Tsang, poll shows
Leung Chun-ying will replace Donald Tsang Yam-kuen on Sunday amid falling support for both men and the most distrust in the government since the handover, a new poll shows.
About 39 per cent of the 861 respondents to the Chinese University survey said they supported Leung becoming chief executive, down eight points since a similar poll last month.
The poll gave Leung a popularity rating of 51.5 points out of 100, down 4.2 points from a month ago.
The former Executive Council convenor has faced a series of setbacks as he prepares to replace Tsang, including revelations that he had five illegal structures at his HK$500 million home on The Peak.
Tsang's own popularity rating fell a further 1.3 points to 41.8, his lowest mark since becoming chief executive in 2005. His popularity had been on the slide even before it became known he had accepted hospitality from tycoons.
The latest poll also found unhappiness with the local and central governments at a record high.
About 37 per cent of respondents said they did not trust the city government, up 8.8 points from last month, while 38.9 per cent reported dissatisfaction with Beijing, up 9.1 points.
The pollsters said the rising mistrust of the central government reflected people's disapproval of how Beijing handled the suspicious death of activist Li Wangyang .
The poll, conducted between last Friday and Monday, had a margin of error of 3.3 per cent.
Another survey released by the University of Hong Kong yesterday found that people's satisfaction levels with economic, political and livelihood conditions are all in negative territory. When rating satisfaction and dissatisfaction, economic conditions scored minus 20, political conditions minus 38 and social issues minus 40.
The HKU survey interviewed 1,048 people this month for its Public Sentiment Index, a review of people's appraisal of social conditions.
The index stood at 74.7 out of 200, a low point not seen in eight years.
Former government minister Joseph Wong Wing-ping said the plunge in Leung's popularity in the Chinese University survey was not surprising.
The poll was conducted just after the illegal structure scandal came to light last week.
'Leung will continue to be overshadowed by the illegal structures as they prompt people to question his integrity,' Wong said. 'He has yet to provide a detailed explanation on the incident.'
39%
Just this percentage of people polled in the Chinese University survey supported Leung Chun-ying being chief executive
