Poll: 70 percent of HK people back electoral reform

About 70 percent of residents in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) polled in a survey supported a decision by the nation's top legislature to improve Hong Kong's electoral system.

The poll result was released on Sunday, a day before the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress convenes to amend Annex I and Annex II of the HKSAR's Basic Law. The annexes are centered on the election and formation of the city's chief executive and lawmakers.

On March 11, the National People's Congress approved the decision to improve the HKSAR's electoral system. The improvement will see an expansion of the Election Committee that chooses the city's top leader from 1,200 to 1,500, and the city's legislature from 70 to 90.

The survey also found that up to 67 percent of those polled agreed that the reconstituted Election Committee should comprise five sectors: industrial, commercial and financial sectors; the professions; grassroots, labor, religious and other sectors; Legislative Council members and representatives of district organizations; Hong Kong deputies to the NPC, Hong Kong members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and representatives of Hong Kong members of related national organizations.

Regarding the formation of the expanded legislature, 36.9 percent chose to have 40 lawmakers returned by the Election Committee, another 30 returned by functional constituencies and 20 returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections.

The combination was the most popular of the three options presented to interviewees while the other two received 24.2 percent and 20.4 percent of residents' votes respectively, according to the survey.

Also, 65.1 percent of residents supported the establishment of a candidate qualification review committee to vet those standing for the Election Committee, the chief executive, and the LegCo.

The survey, conducted by the think tank Bauhinia Institute, interviewed 1,366 residents over the phone from March 22 to 27.

The think tank said it is clear that most residents agree that there is a need to effectively remove anti-China troublemakers from the power structure to ensure the HKSAR's long-term stability and prosperity.

Also, 68.3 percent of residents said that the improvement will boost their confidence in the HKSAR's future.

That means the majority of residents in the HKSAR agreed that the electoral improvement will allow the HKSAR to give full play to its edges under the "one country, two systems" principle, enhance its competitiveness and bring benefits to society, the think tank said.