Hong Kong’s leading opinion polls institute to cut ties with city’s oldest university after 28-year association

Hong Kong’s leading opinion polls institute will cease 28-year association with the city’s oldest university and become an independent body run by its departing director, it was announced on Tuesday. Dr Robert Chung Ting-yiu, director and founder of the public opinion programme at the University of Hong Kong, said the opinion poll institute would become an independent body this summer. Both Chung, 61, and the university said there were practical rather than political reasons for the decision to end the programme, which had been criticised in the past for releasing surveys unfavourable to the city’s leaders. On Tuesday, he said he would set up the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute when his HKU contract expired in July. Two sources with knowledge of the situation said the university had different views about conducting polls, which carry less academic weight than research, thus triggering the split. “The faculty feels the POP does not have much interaction with other departments,” said the first source, from a university background. Another source said: “The university wants to go in a different direction and does not think polls are the right thing to do. Chung’s retirement has provided a good reason to part ways.” Chung conducted some of the most widely quoted polls over the years, including the chief executive’s popularity ratings, election exit polls and Hongkongers’ identity surveys. “I hold no blame for anyone, no anger, and no regret at all,” Chung said. “For many years, I have asked whether being labelled part of HKU is something positive or negative? You can’t buy popularity, says chief pollster Professor William Hayward, HKU’s dean of social science, said the decision had nothing to do with the politically controversial nature of the pollster’s work. “Most research ventures at the university are tied to individual leaders, so Dr Chung is the absolute leader of the public opinion programme. When he leaves HKU, it’s very difficult for HKU to continue with it,” Hayward said. “If we are to continue, we will be in direct competition with our former colleague, and that doesn’t make too much sense.” Chung admitted there would be tough times ahead as the new institute would need to crowdfund HK$6 million (US$765,000) of seed money to operate. He hoped it could be financially sustainable after the first year, with income generated from research conducted for private companies. I never expect to receive support from the pro-Beijing or pro-establishment camp Dr Robert Chung, pollster “I never expect to receive support from the pro-Beijing or pro-establishment camp, but I still believe in the importance on our work and I have faith in Hong Kong people,” he said. In 2000, Chung publicly accused then chief executive Tung Chee-hwa of pressuring him via “a special channel” to stop conducting surveys on Tung’s popularity and the government’s credibility. The saga, first revealed by Chung in a column for the Post, eventually forced the resignation of vice-chancellor Patrick Cheng Yiu-chung. It was later revealed Tung’s closest aide, Andrew Lo Cheung-on, had questioned Chung’s role and the way the survey was being conducted, prompting widespread criticism of Tung for interfering with academic freedom. Support for same-sex marriage in Hong Kong grows as study shows attitudes are changing Property tycoon Peter Lee Ka-kit attacked one of the programme’s polls in 2014 during a session in Beijing attended by Zhang Dejiang, then chairman of China’s legislature the National People’s Congress. Lee accused Chung of releasing polls at “critical moments” with findings unfavourable to the then chief executive Leung Chun-ying. Also in 2014, leaders of the Occupy campaign commissioned the programme to carry out an unofficial citywide referendum on electoral reform packages, which drew a high turnout of almost 800,000 people. Some pro-Beijing groups had also accused the programme of being influenced by foreign powers, and staged protests on the university campus calling for Chung to be fired. George Cautherley, co-director of the new institute, said that to alleviate financial pressure, some regular polls would become less frequent. Currently, the POP tracks the popularity of the chief executive every two to three weeks and satisfaction with the government once a month. Polls on the popularity of lawmakers are published three times a year.