People more confident about freedom of assembly, says pollster

Mass demonstrations last month in response to proposed anti-subversion laws appear to have prompted a slight increase in public confidence in freedom of assembly, a university pollster said yesterday.

Faith in the freedom of procession and demonstration rose 0.2 points to 6.33 on a scale of 10 compared with October, according to the latest University of Hong Kong's Public Opinion Programme telephone poll.

'The rating for this indicator rebounded slightly early this month to 6.33 marks, probably due to the occurrence of many large-scale processions and assemblies late last month,' said Robert Chung Ting-yiu, the director of the programme.

The relatively moderate approach taken by police in dealing with the protesters in the two large marches for and against the proposed laws might also have been a contributing factor, Dr Chung added.

He said the indicator had dropped to a record low last October after the first prosecution under the Public Order Ordinance, which was then pending, and the release in September of the government's proposals for legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law.

The poll conducted early this month revealed that the public's faith in freedom of speech and press and publication freedom remained stable.