With the 10th anniversary of the handover just two months away, Hong Kong people's trust in Beijing and the 'one country, two systems' formula have surged to historic highs, an opinion poll shows.
Public confidence in the future of Hong Kong and China also passed 80 per cent to reach a new high, the poll by the University of Hong Kong's public opinion programme shows.
Trust in the central government has risen 17 percentage points since mid-February to 58 per cent, the highest level since the regular survey was first conducted in 1992. Distrust in Beijing is down 5 percentage points to 13 per cent.
Confidence in Beijing's 'one country, two systems' concept for ruling Hong Kong rose 10 percentage points from February to 78 per cent, the highest level since 1993. Those saying they had no confidence in the formula dropped to 18 per cent from 25 per cent two months ago.
The survey, for which 1,011 people were polled, has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Almost nine in 10 were bullish about the future of the mainland. Confidence in Hong Kong's future rose 6 percentage points from February, to 81 per cent.
