A top adviser to the Chief Executive put more pressure on pollster Dr Robert Chung Ting-yiu yesterday to reveal the identity of the 'third party' who he says told him Tung Chee-hwa wanted surveys on government popularity stopped.
Executive Council member Henry Tang Ying-yen said Dr Chung, of the University of Hong Kong, would be acting irresponsibly if he did not clarify his allegations.
'If he doesn't come forward to give an account [of the matter], I believe the public and the media would not so easily let him go,' Mr Tang said.
Dr Chung had earlier offered to disclose the identity of the 'third party' to Mr Tung in confidence. But Information Co-ordinator Stephen Lam Sui-lung has said there are no plans to arrange a meeting between the Chief Executive and Dr Chung, and that he would advise Mr Tung not to meet Dr Chung behind closed doors to discuss the allegations.
On Sunday, Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan Fang On-sang said that the matter should be laid to rest. But a spokeswoman for her office said the Chief Secretary's remarks should not be interpreted as meaning it was no longer necessary for Dr Chung to disclose the identity of the 'third party'.
'This does not conflict with the requests by the Chief Executive's Office or [Information Co-ordinator] Stephen Lam for Dr Chung to clarify. The Government's stance is very clear,' the spokeswoman said.