CUHK
News Centre

The Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) conducted the latest edition of an annual survey to gauge public views on the Greater Bay Area plan from 23 November to 9 December 2022. The main findings are as follows:

More than a third (34.1%) of the respondents deemed the development plan an opportunity for Hong Kong, while about a fifth (20.6%) disagreed and over a third (36.0%) were neutral. The changes in the percentages were not statistically significant (p≥0.05) compared with those from last year. 

The finance, innovative technology, and transport and logistics industries in Hong Kong have the potential to grow under the Greater Bay Area Development Plan. Among the respondents, 41.6% agreed that the plan would benefit the finance industry, while 20.2% disagreed and 34.9% were neutral. As to whether it would benefit the innovative technology industry, 35.9% of the respondents agreed, 19.3% disagreed and 35.5% were neutral. In both industries, no significant changes in percentage were found (p≥0.05) compared with the respective distributions from the previous year. In contrast to the former two industries, more respondents (44.1%) believed that the plan could benefit the transport and logistics industry, while 16.3% did not and 34.0% were neutral. The changes in percentages were statistically significant (p<0.05) compared with those from last year.   

Of the respondents, 49.2% believed that Hong Kong’s participation in the plan would lead to both opportunities and challenges. While 22.1% thought that the plan would bring more opportunities to Hong Kong, 15.3% emphasised the challenges that would arise for the city. The changes in percentages were not statistically significant (p≥0.05) compared with those from the previous year.

One aim of the development plan is to facilitate the movement of Hongkongers to work or live in Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area, but 57.9% of the respondents viewed the competitiveness of Hongkongers in Mainland cities as being “very little” (37.2%) or “none” (20.7%), while 26.4% regarded it as “large” (22.5%) or “very large” (3.9%). The changes in percentages were not statistically significant (p≥0.05) compared with those for a similar question from last year.

79.0% of the respondents did not intend to move to Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area, while 10.1% said they would like to do so. When asked whether they would encourage young people in Hong Kong to move to Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area, 62.7% of the respondents said they would not do so, while 19.1% said they would encourage young people to go, and 4.2% said they would do so under certain conditions. The changes in percentages were statistically significant (p<0.05) compared with those from the previous year.

The survey also asked respondents to assess Hong Kong’s attractiveness to overseas talents in the areas of innovation and technology. About two thirds (65.8%) saw the appeal of Hong Kong as being “quite small” (53.7%) or “very small” (12.1%), while 15.4% saw it as “quite large” (14.3%) or “very large” (1.1%).

As to Hong Kong’s attractiveness to Mainland talents in the areas of innovation and technology, 38.4% saw it as “quite small” (33.9%) or “very small” (4.5%), while 42.9% saw it as “quite large” (35.4%) or “very large” (7.5%).

Regarding which city benefits more if Hong Kong and Shenzhen cooperate in innovation and technology, over a quarter (25.7%) of the respondents said that more benefits would accrue to Hong Kong than to Shenzhen, while 13.3% said the opposite. A quarter (25.0%) of them saw cooperation as being equally beneficial to both places.

A total of 703 respondents aged 18 or above were successfully interviewed, through both mobile phones (337) and landlines (366), with response rates of 22.7% (mobile phones) and 22.8% (landlines) respectively. The sampling error was estimated at plus or minus 3.70 percentage points, at a 95% confidence level.