With Hong Kong’s long-running anti-government protest movement showing no signs of slowing, approval ratings for the city’s secretaries for justice and security, as well as its top pro-Beijing lawmakers, have hit record lows, according to a new public opinion survey.
The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute asked 1025 people for their opinions on high-ranking government officials and lawmakers, with a whopping 68 percent of respondents expressing disapproval for Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng — a rating officially categorized as “disastrous” by the PORI.
The result earned Cheng a so-called “support rating” of 21.6 — a 7.9-point drop from last month’s survey, and a 19.3-point drop from her all-time high of 40.9. Cheng’s performance in the latest survey was so “disastrous,” in fact, that her support rating was the lowest ever for any high-ranking official since the survey program began in the 1990s.
Secretary for Security John Lee’s approval rating also hit a record low, with 59 percent of respondents expressing disapproval — 19 percent more than last month — a performance PORI officially categorized as merely “depressing.” Lee, as the official in charge of the Hong Kong Police Force, has faced criticism over authorities’ response to recent protests, particularly their heavy-handed efforts to disperse a largely non-violent protest on June 12.
The survey also polled respondents about their feelings toward lawmakers, asking them to name 10 councillors and rate them. The three most frequently mentioned pro-Beijing councillors — Starry Lee, Regina Ip, and Priscilla Leung — all hit historic lows in terms of their support ratings, with 33.5, 33.1, and 27.1, respectively.
All had played a role in the government’s failed efforts to jam through the deeply controversial extradition bill at the center of the city’s unrest.
On the other side of the aisle, the three most-named pro-democracy lawmakers — Alvin Yeung, Claudia Mo, and Roy Kwong — all enjoyed bumps in their support ratings. In fact, the protests appear to have boosted Kwong’s name recognition enough for him to be included in the survey for the first time ever.
Meanwhile, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive, continued to hover around the the all-time low she hit in a survey two weeks ago, with a support rating of 33.4 points. Though the score was 0.6 points higher than her lowest, it was still lower than the support rating for all previous chief executives.
