'Polling Work Won't Stop Despite Arrests'

A pollster who was commissioned to run the pan-democratic camp's primary elections for the now-postponed Legco elections said he would continue his work despite this week's mass arrests of those linked to the exercise.

A defiant Chung Kim-wah, deputy head of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute which helped run the primaries, told an RTHK programme on Friday that people "should not be dominated by fear".

Chung said the organisation only provided a "neutral" platform for people to express their views, adding that it would have helped the pro-government camp as well if it was asked to.

"The 2020 primaries served as a mechanism for the pan-democrats to resolve their coordination problems. We have said from the onset that everyone is welcome to use the platform, including the pro-establishment camp. If they want to hold primaries and find our platform useful, we will do it for them," he said.

Chung added that conducting polls is a basic right and sees no reason why such work should discontinue.

The former Polytechnic University academic and the institute's founder, Robert Chung, were both questioned by the police in relation to the high-profile national security case that resulted in the arrest of 55 people.

Chung Kim-wah said police searched his home on Thursday and did not take away any items.

He also said the government should not blame those who conveyed public opinion, but should instead reflect upon themselves when polls show it's unpopular.

Chung said if people worry about angering the government, a lot of things can't be done in Hong Kong.

Speaking on the same programme, deputy director of the Basic Law Committee, Maria Tam, said she believes there's a sound legal basis for the arrests, adding the suspects had shown their intention to violate the law.

Tam described the primaries as part of a bigger plan to subvert the government.