Public trust in government and business falling, says survey
HK fares poorly in global poll, with PR agency saying bad communications partly to blame
Hongkongers' faith in business and government is plummeting, according to a survey by public relations agency Edelman.
Trust in government fell 18 points to 45 per cent - the steepest drop of the 27 countries included in the global survey of 33,000 people. The survey found public trust in Hong Kong business fell 11 points to 49 per cent, the third biggest decline of surveyed nations.
So if you don’t trust government, you won’t trust business
Professor Eliza Lee Wing-yee, the head of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong, said Hongkongers' loss of trust in government and business was connected.
"There has been a lot of talk about declining trust in the government due to policy failure, legitimacy problems and scandals," she said. "As for business, people talk about a collusion with the government. They think the government protects business interests, so if you don't trust government, you won't trust business."
Lee said the Occupy Central movement and the dockworkers' strike against Hutchison Port last year were evidence of diminishing faith in Hong Kong's institutions.
"There is a general sense of injustice, and people attribute this injustice to those holding political and economic power, which is highly interrelated," she said.