The pledge by Donald Tsang Yam-kuen to base his policy programme on public opinion is a variation on a familiar theme. For the past two years, Hong Kong people have repeatedly been assured by the government that their voices will be heard. Former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa made such a promise after the mass demonstration on July 1, 2003. 'The government will listen more extensively and strive to strengthen communication with the public,' he said. In his policy address in January he spoke of the need to 'think what people think'. Mr Tung, for all his talk of listening to the people, was not able to convince the public that this was being done. Mr Tsang promises to do better. He has the benefit of high popularity levels and the widely held desire for a fresh start. But the new leader's approach to people-based government, outlined to lawmakers on Monday, raises some big doubts. On the positive side, Mr Tsang appeared in the Legislative Council only three days after being sworn in as chief executive. This backed up his declared intention to communicate more with legislators than his predecessor had done. He also made a point of stressing the importance of public opinion, telling lawmakers: 'You have your agenda and I also have mine. But let's not insist which one is right. Just listen to the people.' This sort of sentiment will, no doubt, further boost his popularity. But good governance involves a great deal more than just listening to the people. Sometimes, tough decisions will need to be taken for the good of Hong Kong - and they may not always be popular. It is important to take public opinion into account when drawing up policies, but not to slavishly follow it. There is also the question of how best to determine what the public really wants. The approach outlined by Mr Tsang on Monday was unconvincing. He attached great importance to a public opinion poll conducted on behalf of the Central Policy Unit. This was compiled by asking 1,200 people to rank 25 different policy areas in terms of their importance. Conveniently for Mr Tsang, livelihood issues rather than the more controversial political reform came out on top. Unemployment, good governance and air pollution led the list of priorities. Universal suffrage was down in 13th place, below small-class teaching, central slaughtering for poultry and the need for a bus fare adjustment mechanism. It is worrying that Mr Tsang referred to this poll so often during the question and answer session. He used it to reject appeals by lawmakers for action on policies that had a poor ranking on his list. The government's policy priorities cannot sensibly be determined in strict accordance with opinion polls - especially a single survey authorised by the CPU. This, we should not forget, is the think-tank which predicted that only 30,000 people would attend the July 1 march in 2003 (half a million took part). The methodology and objectivity of CPU polls has often been questioned. The survey on the public's priorities is not a sound basis for policy formulation. Opinion polls have a useful role to play. Surveys on universal suffrage have, for example, consistently shown a majority of Hong Kong people to be in support. Taken together, they present a more accurate picture than the lowly 13th place secured by the issue in the CPU poll. Another policy area that fared poorly in the survey was the much-needed introduction of a goods and services tax. It was ranked 21st. This should not be taken by Mr Tsang as a justification for going slow on the policy - it just suggests the government has a lot of work to do to persuade the public of its merits. Mr Tsang will do well in his new role if he can make policymaking more inclusive and rally the public behind his programme. But it will take much more than a CPU poll to make good on the pledge to listen to the people - and to turn this into a sound policy programme.