More than 40 per cent of the public believes Hong Kong has gone backwards in the development of democracy, the rule of law and human rights over the past year, a survey by The Frontier has found.
Thirty-six per cent of the 893 respondents polled last month also said the level of freedom had worsened.
A further 40 per cent of respondents said they had seen no major changes in these four categories.
Only about 4 to 5 per cent of people said they had seen some improvement in the development of democracy, levels of freedom and the human rights situation.
The survey, conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Chinese University, found the overall performance rating for Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa was 42.8 out of 100. Frontier member Andrew To Kwan-hang said the results were worrying.
They indicated a majority of the public saw either no improvement or a regression in the four categories before legislation covering the proposed National Security Bill had been completed.