Twenty-seven per cent of youthin Hong Kong were in support of James Soong, the Independent Candidate in the TaiwanesePresidential Election, according to a survey by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups.Chen Shui-bian, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party candidate, secured 19 per centsupport. Kuomintang Contender, Vice-President Lien Chan came third, earning 17 per centsupport, a 2-percentage point less than Chen. About 20 per cent of Hong Kong youth saidthey had no preference, whereas 15 per cent would not have supported any of thecandidates.

In a wide ranging poll, as many as 72 per cent of respondents said thatthey hoped for the reunification of China. Twelve per cent were opposed, while about 15per cent said it did not matter.

The survey also noted that an overwhelming majority (85%) ofrespondents believed that third party involvement was not welcome in cross-strait issues.Ten per cent, however, saw the merit in outside involvement.

When asked what the best resolution to solve cross-strait problemswould be, the largest proportion of respondents stated that negotiations were paramount.Another 27 per cent suggested that the one country, two systems formula could be thesolution, while about 20 per cent said they preferred to see the status quo maintained.Only a very small proportion (2.3%) of respondents supported the use of military force toresolve the issue.

The telephone poll, conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups from 14 to 16March, successfully interviewed 414 young people aged between 15 and 29.

After the Elections, theFederation conducted another survey one the same area of research.  The survey  found that young people ranked Ma Ying-jeou as the most well-known public figure inTaiwan. His performance rating was also the top of the list. Although Lee Teng-hui andChen Shui-bian ranked second and third based on familiarity with their names, just aheadSoong Chu-yu, their performance rating lagged far behind Soong. Soong's scoring was just0.4 points behind Ma who scored 6 points. Chen came third. However, young people gave theoutgoing Kumington Chair Lee Teng-hui, 3.8 points only, 1.2 points below a pass mark.Around 70 per cent of respondents stated that Hong Kong did not have sufficient or capablepolitical leader

The survey found that young people had a strong hope for reunificationbetween the cross-strait rivals, with 87 per cent of respondents reiterating Taiwan aspart of China, while 72 per cent were against Taiwan independence. These findings weresimilar with those of a survey conducted by the Federation just before thePresidential Election. However, around half of the respondents said that they had noconfidence that the reunification would occur, while 40 per cent were confident.

In foreseeing cross-strait relations after the election of ChenShui-bian as President in Taiwan, 42 per cent believed that relations between China andTaiwan would remain unchanged, whereas one-third believed that relations woulddeteriorate. The largest proportion of respondents believed that a lack of mutual trustbetween Beijing and Taipei was the biggest obstacle for the development of cross-straitrelations, ahead of increasing pro-independence call in Taiwan.

With regard to the impact of the Taiwanese PresidentialElection, 60 per cent of respondents admitted that the Elections increased their awarenessof the prospects of Taiwan. Another 40 per cent revealed that the Elections helped them tobetter understand the issue of cross-strait relations. 35 per cent said the Electionsincreased their sense of national consciousness.

The telephone poll, conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of YouthGroups from 20 to 23 March, successfully interviewed 525 young people aged between 15 and29. The survey found that a majority of respondents followed the Presidential Election inTaiwan. Among them, more than half agreed that the Elections were clean and fair.

Around 10 per cent of respondents indicated that the TaiwanElections motivated them to cast a vote in the upcoming Legislative Council Elections inSeptember. A similar percentage of respondents said that the Elections increased theirinterest to participate in social affairs or activities. More than half of respondentswere of the view that the Elections affected mainly the financial markets and economictrading of Hong Kong.