Budget giveaways boost public confidence in Henry Tang
The public's confidence in Henry Tang Ying-yen has surged 12 percentage points to a record high after he presented the biggest giveaway budget since the handover, according to a University of Hong Kong poll.
The survey, which gauged the views of 1,008 people between March 1 and 6, found public confidence in the financial secretary was 74 per cent, against the 62 per cent recorded by the same pollsters on budget day, February 28.
The findings of the poll, carried out by the university's public opinion programme, are in sharp contrast to public opinion in August, when the pollsters recorded the biggest loss of public confidence in Mr Tang - a 19 percentage point plunge, to 50 per cent - after he outlined the case for a goods and services tax.
Since the fall - also the biggest the poll has recorded since the handover - the finance chief has been gradually recovering lost ground.
The previous biggest increase was posted in early February when public confidence in Mr Tang rose 8 percentage points to 63 per cent.
The latest poll also showed Mr Tang had a support rating of 65.6 out of a possible 100, up from the 64.1 recorded in the HKU poll conducted immediately after his budget speech, in which he announced changes in salaries tax bands, rates and allowances and tax and rates rebates worth HK$20 billion.
