Ming Bao (Hong Kong): 80% of Middle Class Citizens Surveyed Concerned About Article 23 Legislation

Ming Bao (Hong Kong) reported on February 16, 2003 that more than 80% of middle class citizens surveyed in Hong Kong are concerned about how the Article 23 legislation will affect their freedom and the ability of the Hong Kong government to follow the rule of law.

Results of the survey showed that over 80% think that if the Article 23 legislation passes, their confidence in freedom and rule of law in Hong Kong will be reduced. Seventy percent of the participants said that they have considered leaving Hong Kong and emigrating because of Article 23.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Government was given a score of 33.60 out of 100 as an overall rating. As the person in charge of the survey, Professor Lui Tai-Lok, Department of Sociology, Chinese University of Hong Kong said, the survey shows that confidence in the government by the middle class has greatly dropped.