CHINA'S vow to dismantle the District Boards in 1997 did not seem to affect young people's intention to vote at yesterday's District Board Elections, a survey revealed.
The telephone survey - 'Young People's Voting Attitude' - was commissioned by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups and conducted by the Social Science Research Centre of the University of Hong Kong.
It was carried out between September 2 and 7. A total of 520 respondents aged from 18 to 29 were interviewed. More than 78 per cent of the respondents claimed the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee's resolution to dismantle Hong Kong's three-tier political structure in 1997 would not dampen their desire to vote.
About five per cent even regarded China's vow as a factor which raised their enthusiasm for voting, while some 13 per cent admitted that it would discourage their voting intention.
More than 70 per cent of respondents said they would vote in yesterday's election, while less than 20 per cent offered a negative response. Of those who refused to vote, more than 23 per cent admitted they lacked interest in the election while almost 23 per cent confessed they knew nothing about voting.
Nevertheless, more than 66 per cent of the young people surveyed had faith the election would be fair. Only about 17 per cent held the opposite view.
