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Hong Kong public split on whether lawmakers should stay for extended term but most opposition supporters favour boycott, poll finds
- Survey finds 37 per cent of respondents support all incumbent lawmakers serving out term while 41 per cent oppose them staying
- But among those who identify themselves as opposition supporters, just 19 per cent say lawmakers should see out the legislature’s extended term
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Hong Kong residents are split on whether incumbent lawmakers should serve out their extended Legislative Council terms, but more than 60 per cent of opposition supporters say the camp should boycott the legislature’s meetings in the coming year.
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A survey released on Friday served as a surprise reference for the pan-democrats, with Legco’s two largest opposition parties deciding to conduct a poll to gauge people’s views on whether they should exit the legislature.
The authorities’ decision to let incumbent lawmakers remain in office for at least a year following the coronavirus-related postponement of September’s Legco elections triggered a split in the opposition camp.
Most were inclined to stay in Legco to block any controversial government proposals, but localists argued for a collective boycott of an extended term they said violated democratic principles.
The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute randomly polled 1,012 residents from Tuesday to Thursday and found 37 per cent of respondents supported all incumbent lawmakers serving out the term, recently extended by Beijing, while 41 per cent opposed them staying. The rest were undecided.
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Among those who identified themselves as opposition supporters – about half of the respondents – just 19 per cent said lawmakers should stay while 61 per cent believed they should leave.
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