Hongkongers’ confidence in future plunges to a worse level than 2003 record low when deadly Sars epidemic struck, university survey finds
- University of Hong Kong survey also finds that the younger generation are more distrustful of Beijing than others
- Net confidence rating plunges to minus 16 percentage points, the worst since the survey started in 1994
Hongkongers’ confidence in the city’s future is at a worse level than the record low set in 2003, when the Sars epidemic hit, according to a University of Hong Kong survey.
The university also found that the younger generation were more distrustful of Beijing than others.
HKU interviewed about 1,000 residents from February 28 to March 5 to gauge their trust in the central government, confidence in China and Hong Kong’s future, as well as in the “one country, two systems” framework under which Beijing governs Hong Kong.
Under the principle, Beijing guaranteed the city a high degree of autonomy after it was returned from British rule in 1997.
Asked if they were confident in Hong Kong’s future, 39 per cent said yes and 55 per cent said no – a net rating of minus 16 percentage points, the worst since the survey started in 1994 and 15 percentage points below September, when the last poll was held.
The government has faced a series of criticisms in recent months. They included medical professionals’ grievances about the manpower shortage in public hospitals.