HK poll shows lack of confidence in Chinese leadership

[dArKeR]

REUTERS , HONG KONG
Thursday, Mar 04, 2004,Page 5

Beijing's vitriolic attacks on pro-democracy forces in Hong Kong to try to silence demands for more voting rights have dented residents' confidence in China's central government, a new survey shows.

About 43 percent of 1,045 people interviewed in the poll, conducted between Feb. 20 to 23, said they trusted Beijing, down from 50 percent at the end of December. Those who said they mistrust Beijing rose to 22 percent from 19 percent.

The poll coincided with an increasingly strident campaign by Beijing to muffle demands for more voting rights in the territory.

Researcher Robert Chung at the University of Hong Kong, which conducted the poll, said Beijing's rhetoric, including calling pro-democracy figures unpatriotic, could backfire.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/03/04/2003101080

America speaks, "Communists please come and take Bush for your leader!"