Page:Hong Kong Basic Law consultation report vol. 1.djvu/45

 5.3.2.7 It is doubted whether a political organization like the CCBL will be able to execute this scientific process free from interference and objectively, especially in the design of the questionnaire. The various political forces will make sure that they have a chance to participate and exert influence so that the survey results will be favourable to their own camp.

5.3.2.8 Subject to the nature of the CCBL, whether the survey results will be accepted by all parties, including the party to which the results are unfavourable, remains a big question.

5.4 On the handling of the results of a public opinion poll

5.4.1 Affirmative view:

5.4.1.1 The cause of the request for a public opinion poll is that no one is in a position to represent the people in Hong Kong in accepting or rejecting the provisions of the Basic Law (Draft), especially those under the chapter on the political structure and in the annexes. Thus, a public opinion poll is just right for gauging the acceptability of the Basic Law to the public. The Drafting Committee should then abide by the wishes of the people and amend the provisions according to the acceptability of the provisions to the public.

5.4.2 Reservations and objections:

5.4.2.1 It is indicated in some opinions that if the survey results are binding on the Drafting Committee, the Drafting Committee will have to amend the Draft according to these results. However, the survey results do not necessarily suggest exactly how the Draft should be amended. The results may even confuse the Drafting Committee as they are contradictory or no clear inclination is shown by the answers in the questionnaire. Since the majority of survey results are in the form of simple answers, rarely with detailed explanations, if the Drafting Committee is to amend the Draft in accordance with such results, it will have a difficult job justifying itself to members of the CCBL and people from various sectors who have been involved in in-depth discussions on the Draft in the past three years or so. On the other hand, if the survey results are not binding on the Drafting Committee, the Drafting Committee will not amend the Draft in accordance with these results, and the public opinion poll will become a futile effort.

5.4.2.2 If other organizations and bodies within the community also conduct their own public opinion polls at the same time, the results of their surveys may be contradictory