For the first time ever, there are more members of the Hong Kong public oppose the government’s political reform proposal than those who support it, according to the results of the latest opinion poll.
The poll, led by HKU with co-organisers CUHK and PolyU, has been regularly conducted since April 23.
The newly released results of the latest poll, which surveyed respondents between June 3 and June 7, 41.7 percent of respondents were in favour of the proposal, while 43.0 percent were against it.
In the last poll, which was conducted between June 2 and 6, almost exactly the same number of respondents said they were for or against the proposal (42.8 percent each).
Labour Party lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan called it the “golden divide”. He believes the hardball stance from Beijing has contributed to the outcome, and hopes to see the proposal continue lose support, he said in a press meeting, reports DBC.
Wong Kwok-hing, a pro-Beijing lawmaker and a member the Federation of Trade Unions, dismissed the poll results.
He argued that an earlier petition, which its pro-Beijing lobbyist organisers said collected 1.2 million signatures in favour of the government, better reflects actual public opinion, reports Apple Daily.
In addition, several professional groups have surveyed their own peers about the proposal. A poll by the Hong Kong Institute of Architecture showed that 64.1 percent of respondents were against the proposal, while a poll within the accounting community found 52.5% opposed it.
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