Leading Hong Kong pollster plans to limit surveys on sensitive topics, including Tiananmen crackdown

HONG KONG — One of Hong Kong’s most reputable sources of public opinion data is limiting the scope of its surveys, including on sensitive topics such as Beijing's 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square. The change, following a contact from a government agency, is likely to restrict the availability of information about the opinions of Hong Kong residents.

The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute announced Tuesday it has tentatively decided to cancel about one-fourth of its regular survey questions and limit about one-third of the remaining ones to internal use, academic research and commissioned services, instead of releasing those results to the public. The announcement came two weeks after it canceled its planned release of a survey conducted on the anniversary of the crackdown on the 1989 pro-democracy protests at the advice of the government agency.

The institute's CEO, Robert Chung, said in an email Tuesday night that the government's assessment was a factor considered in its review of its operations. He did not identify the government agency.

The institute also considered factors including the demand for opinion data, the development of Hong Kong society, the role of pollsters in promoting science and democracy, and legal risks, he said. The proposed revisions will affect topics such as the Tiananmen crackdown, the city's handover to Chinese rule in 1997, local disciplinary forces, and ratings of lawmakers, the institute's website said. The final plan is to be announced in July.

Critics said the survey restrictions would be a great loss for Hong Kong, which was once famed for its freedom of expression.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 and was promised the right to retain its Western-style civil liberties for 50 years after the handover. For decades, the institute tracked public sentiment on issues including the 1989 crackdown, in which hundreds and possibly thousands of people including many students were killed, and China's central government policy toward the city.

Asked by The Associated Press, police did not say whether they had made suggestions to the survey institute, but said safeguarding national security is the obligation of all citizens and organizations.

“It is a responsible act of the organization which decided not to release any information with national security risks,” police said in an email. The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In January 2021, when more than 50 pro-democracy activists were arrested on subversion charges over an unofficial primary election, in the city's biggest national security crackdown, police also raided the institute, which was involved in organizing the voting.

Before he launched the independent institute, Chung was the director of the public opinion program at the University of Hong Kong, the city's oldest university. Over the years, his work has drawn ire from pro-Beijing media and organizations. But the institute continued to ask politically sensitive questions after Beijing imposed a tough National Security Law on the city. For example, in previous polls about the Tiananmen crackdown, it asked respondents whether they thought Beijing students and the central government “did the right thing."

Chung Kim-wah, who served as deputy chief executive of the institute before leaving for the United Kingdom, said his former colleagues have been doing public opinion studies for about 30 years which he said were crucial for the study of Hong Kong’s history and social development.

The poll results also enabled the government to respond to the public’s views, and served as indicators of the city’s changes, Chung said.

“This is a very great loss,” he said.