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Following is a question by Dr Hon Priscilla Leung and a written reply by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, in the Legislative Council today (April 28):
Question:
According to the findings of a survey published earlier by the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 25.9% of the respondents agreed to the use of radical means in requesting the Government to respond to their demands, and based on the adult population in 2009, it was estimated that about 1.5 million people were in support of fierce confrontation, and the proportion of respondents finding Hong Kong a harmonious society dropped sharply from 37.5% in 2008 to 26.5% in 2010. The Head of the Central Policy Unit ("CPU") subsequently published an article in the newspapers, pointing out that Hong Kong is faced with mounting social conflicts, but there is a lack of consensus among the various sectors on the method to tackle the social conflicts, thus making people feel trapped in a helpless and frustrated city. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a)whether the view expressed by the Head of CPU represents the Government's stance and viewpoint;
(b)whether the authorities have assessed the impact of the aforesaid situation of about 1.5 million people agreeing to the use of radical means in requesting the Government to respond to their demands on the Government's promotion of harmonious society; whether they will commission other academic institutions to conduct further researches on this subject and whether they will adopt any immediate measures to relieve public discontent;
(c)whether the Government will regard maintaining social harmony and reducing public discontent as the overriding principles in formulating new policies, so as to prevent the occurrence of fierce social confrontation similar to that triggered by the project to construct the Hong Kong Section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link; and
(d)given that the Central Government has been continuously promoting the concept of social harmony on the Mainland in recent years, but the aforesaid survey has shown a rapid decrease in the proportion of members of the public who find Hong Kong a harmonious society, whether the SAR Government will implement measures in various aspects which are more effective and step up its efforts in promoting harmony in Hong Kong; if it will, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct a review in response to the aforesaid survey findings?
Reply:
President,
(a) The Central Policy Unit (CPU) is responsible for, inter alia, assessing and analysing community concerns and public opinions for Government's reference in the policy making process. In his article entitled "Some Thoughts After Reading the Report of CUHK's Public Survey on Social Harmony" published on April 9, 2010, the Head of CPU highlights for the reference of the general public some important observations on social equality, social conflicts and social stability which have been confirmed by many studies. Viewed from a social science perspective, the article points out that the interpretation of the outcome of CUHK's survey by some newspapers as a sign of Hong Kong being on the verge of a riot or outbreak of social unrest does not accord with the prevalent public opinion reflected by the same and other surveys, i.e. acts of violence are neither accepted nor tolerated by Hong Kong people. The article presents an academic and objective analysis based on facts.
(b)The figure of 1.53 million is an estimate based on the proportion of interviewees (i.e. 25.9%) answering "agree" or "strongly agree" in the survey. This has been taken by some newspapers as a sign of Hong Kong being on the verge of a riot or an outbreak of social unrest. However, the same survey also finds that a majority of the public agrees with the approach of "giving way to seek common ground while reserving differences" in dealing with personal and social problems. Moreover, in the minds of the public, radical actions actually include many non-violent words and deeds. According to many surveys, acts of violence are neither accepted nor tolerated by members of the public; even verbal abuses are kept well in check in the community. More importantly, the vast majority of the public still treasure social stability. Any "riotous" acts will surely be censured by the public. Social harmony has been and will continue to be a main focus of the Government. The Government will continue its efforts to strengthen communication with all sectors of the community with a view to seeking common ground while reserving differences and to building a harmonious society. We also welcome studies by the academics and other sectors on this issue.
(c) and (d)As the Chief Executive said in last year's Policy Address, "effective governance requires critical assessment of the situation, prompt response to issues, and taking the public pulse". The Government always maintains close contact with various sectors and reviews public policies in a timely manner. Government policies should be stable and predictable, yet sufficiently flexible to cope with rapidly changing circumstances. After setting policy objectives and principles, we would reach out to the community to listen to the views of the public and refine implementation details. Following this principle, the Government has been consulting stakeholders through different channels and has endeavoured to expand the scope of public participation when formulating policies, especially those affecting the public at large. Apart from inviting written submissions from the public, we also listen to the views of the public, Legislative Council and District Council members through public forums and seminars, as well as meetings of the Legislative Council and District Councils. In addition, we pay close attention to public opinion surveys conducted by academics, non-governmental organisations and the media, and consider them an important means of reflecting public opinion. Meanwhile, we are identifying more effective ways of public engagement in order to enable us to listen to the views of more people of the community.
Promoting social harmony has been a prime objective of the Government as well as the wish of the majority of people in our community. We need concerted efforts of all sectors in the community in finding ways to resolve social conflicts and building a harmonious society.
Ends/Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Issued at HKT 13:15
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