Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen yesterday defended a top government think-tank after criticism that it conducted misleading surveys, which critics said were aimed at undermining public support for the pro-democracy camp.
Mr Tsang said surveys by the Central Policy Unit were purely for internal reference and the questionnaires were designed by experts.
He dismissed accusations that the questions in surveys by the unit were misleading or aimed at particular political parties. 'The government would not carry out surveys to mislead itself,' Mr Tsang said during a question-and-answer session in the Legislative Council.
He was speaking after the Ming Pao newspaper published what it said were details of a questionnaire from the unit that asked whether respondents agreed with veteran democrat Szeto Wah's 'uncompromising stance', and whether they believed former Democratic Party chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming was sincere about improving relations with Beijing.
The survey also asked whether unionist Lau Chin-shek had made a U-turn in calling for reconciliation with Beijing, whether respondents believed the United States government would use Hong Kong as a 'chess piece' to attack the mainland or would reduce trade concessions for Hong Kong.
A spokeswoman for the policy unit last night would not confirm or deny the report. In an earlier statement, the unit denied it had not told the truth in previous denials of similar reports.
