Two Hong Kong TV stations to stop broadcasts of rolling poll results

The co-sponsors of the survey say decision due to announcement by political group, a fellow sponsor, to utilise data for electioneering purposes

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Now TV says it has never before co-sponsored a survey with a political body, and it was not informed of Power for Democracy’s participation when negotiating during negotiations on the poll contract with HKU. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 10:39pm, 25 Aug 2016Updated: 10:52pm, 25 Aug 2016

Two television stations which are sponsoring a rolling poll on the Legislative Council elections have stopped broadcasting the results, after a co-sponsoring political group announced it will make use of the data for electioneering.

As media organisations, Cable TV and Now TV said it would be “inappropriate” for them to continue working together with the political group.

The poll, conducted by the University of Hong Kong’s public opinion programme, has sparked controversy since it was launched late last month. Last week, it was criticised by several political parties, whose candidates were shown as lagging, for having a small sample size, with only 100 to 300 people in each of the five geographical constituencies.

The pollsters cited budget constraints, adding it would raise the size closer to the election.

In a statement yesterday, Cable TV said it found out only on Wednesday that co-sponsor Power for Democracy was planning to make use of some of the poll data to compile a large-scale survey, to be released on September 2, two days before polling day.

“Power for Democracy has ... [said] the survey with 5,000 [people] will be indicative and helpful for political parties to adjust their strategies and win more seats,” the statement read. “Cable TV considers it is not appropriate for itself, as a media organisation, to co-sponsor an opinion poll for electioneering,” it added. It will stop showing the results today.

Two Hong Kong TV stations to stop broadcasts of rolling poll results

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The co-sponsors of the survey say decision due to announcement by political group, a fellow sponsor, to utilise data for electioneering purposes

The co-sponsors of the survey say decision due to announcement by political group, a fellow sponsor, to utilise data for electioneering purposes