'Task Force Should Change Biased Survey Questions'

An urban planning concern group is demanding a government-appointed task force amend questions it is putting to the public in survey, alleging that the current questionnaires are biased against the choice of brownfield sites as a means to increase land supply for housing.

The task force on Saturday launched the second phase of its of public consultation on 18 suggested options for finding new land, involving roving exhibitions and large-scale surveys to gauge people's views.

Chan Kim-ching of Liber Research Community said the questions in the task force's survey are biased and not professional.

He said that although a total of 760 hectares of brownfield land is actually available, the questionnaire only allows the public to select 15 percent – around 120 hectares – as a short-term option.

Chan said the public should be allowed to choose freely.

He told RTHK's Janice Wong that since the consultation only started over the weekend and will last until the end of August, it is not to late to make changes.