Consultants accused of making a biased estimate of the turnout for a pro-democracy demonstration in April have been hired to conduct another study for the top government think-tank.
The Central Policy Unit (CPU) disclosed in a written answer to The Frontier's Emily Lau Wai-hing yesterday that it has commissioned Mercado Solutions Associates to study the situation of Hong Kong people working on the mainland.
Mercado said only 7,627 joined the April protest, against the organisers' estimate of more than 20,000 and a police estimate of 10,000.
Ms Lau said: 'It is really outrageous that the government can repeatedly hire a firm which has been criticised so severely for conducting a biased survey using taxpayers' money.'
'This is really a problem,' the legislator added.
Mercado's estimate of the number of marchers who turned out to protest against Beijing's ruling out of universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008 elections was hotly criticised by academics and pro-democracy politicians. They accused the consultancy of political bias and said its methods did not reflect the true turnout.
