HK leader’s 3rd Policy Address rated lowest yet – HKPORI poll

The third Policy Address by Hong Kong leader John Lee was rated lower than his previous two, an annual poll has found, with fewer people listening to it.

Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) on Thursday released the results of an immediate poll that asked residents to rate the Policy Address – Lee’s third policy blueprint since he became chief executive uncontested in 2022 – delivered the previous day.

626 residents aged 18 or above responded to PORI and only 384 – or 55 per cent after weighting – said they had listened to Lee’s speech. The figure is lower than the 72 per cent result last year and the 66 per cent recorded in 2022, according to the independent pollster’s data.

Among those who had listened, 27 per cent said they were satisfied with Lee’s speech – down from 34 per cent in the previous year – while 40 per cent said they were not satisfied, PORI said during a press conference on Thursday.

The policy blueprint received a score of 42.4 out of 100 – lower than 44.4 in 2023 and 51.1 in 2022.

Lee titled his third Policy Address on Wednesday “Reform for Enhancing Development and Building our Future Together” as he rolled out a raft of measures, including those aimed at eradicating the city’s substandard subdivided flats and supporting small and medium enterprises.

“However, even though the government has worked hard on policies for people’s livelihoods and society, residents feel they cannot help them,” Johnny Lau, a veteran political commentator, said in Cantonese during PORI’s press conference.

Lau said the drop in rating could be attributed to a “perception that [policy measures] were mostly minor fixes to real problems.”

He argued that the government had “shifted the problem” of substandard subdivided flats by renaming them “basic housing units.”

Subdivided flats

Lee said on Wednesday that such “shoebox” flats – with some having extremely poor living conditions – would be banned if they were smaller than eight square metres (86 sq ft) and did not have windows and an independent toilet.

Flat owners would have a grace period of up to two years to rectify their subdivided flats before they face possible imprisonment, housing officials said on Thursday.

Lau said the government could do more to explain why the standard was set at eight square metres and how to ensure the policy was implemented smoothly.

See also: Hong Kong to phase out subdivided units under 8 sq. metres, but ‘coffin homes’ to stay

Earlier in the press conference, PORI CEO Robert Chung said his team were “hesitant” as to whether they should continue the immediate polling after each year’s Policy Address. It has been conducted since 1992, when Hong Kong was still under British colonial rule.

PORI decided to continue the polling because of the “historical continuity,” Chung said in Cantonese.

But he said PORI would begin uploading raw data for people to purchase, adding that the data for this round of polling would be made available from Thursday.

“If you are an academic, a journalist, or even an advisor to the government… wouldn’t it be helpful if you could find the raw data quickly and even examine our analysis? We think it would be,” he said.

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