Government polling, he told lawmakers, shows Hong Kongers to be far more concerned about the economy and livelihood matters than democracy.

Insisting that the official polls accurately reflect popular sentiment, Tsang said: ''My governance platform will be based on the poll results, same as my priorities.''

In his first question-and-answer session with legislators since being officially appointed chief executive, Tsang also suggested that many of the 500,000 marchers who took part in two consecutive July 1 protests were concerned with issues other than democracy.

Appealing for unity, Tsang called on legislators to turn away from politicking and to join hands with government.

''In fact, over the past few years, the endless wrangling between the executive and the legislature has caused serious political conflicts, resulting in a predicament for governance and a lack of public trust in the government, Legco and political parties. This is really a great pity,'' Tsang said. ''I sincerely invite all of you to join us to work for the well-being of Hong Kong people, based on a governance platform receptive to public demand as your goal,'' he told the lawmakers.

Tsang pointed to a survey of about 1,200 people conducted by the official government think-tank, the Central Policy Unit, in late April in which about 80 percent of respondents said they were most concerned with economic and livelihood issues.

He said the introduction of universal suffrage ranked 13th on the list, far behind the top five concerns of unemployment, governance, air pollution, medical system reform and poverty.

The poll outlined that urban renewal policy, centralized chicken slaughtering and adjustable bus fares were more important than democracy. The Article 23 anti-subversion legislation ranked 18th, he said.

The poll results came just four days before a planned annual pro-democracy march on July 1 and signaled that the Tsang government is unlikely to do anything on the political front that will irritate its masters in Beijing.

He said another poll showed more than 60 percent of respondents thought stability and prosperity were more important than upholding freedom and democracy. Despite calling his approach ``people-based governance,'' Tsang's stance did nothing to mend fences with Hong Kong's disaffected democratic opposition.

Tsang said he believed that people taking to the streets on July 1 this year will have fewer grievances than previously.

But Emily Lau, of the Frontier, said Tsang should have commissioned a survey asking whether people want full democracy and then convey their wishes to Beijing.

Lau said Tsang had ignored the fact that half a million residents - roughly 7 percent of the population - marched last July to protest against Beijing's veto of direct elections for chief executive in 2007 and the legislature in 2008.

But Tsang said Beijing had ruled out universal suffrage in 2007-8 and he would not fight for it. He reiterated that polls showed people were more concerned with other issues.

Lau Kong-wah of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), asked Tsang whether he would look at the electoral system for the 2007-8 elections now that he had declared himself to be a ``politician.''

Tsang said political reform was a simple issue which would move towards universal suffrage according to the Basic Law.

``The approach will be the same. That has nothing to do with being a politician,'' he said.

On another issue, democrat Sin Chung-kai asked Tsang whether the government would transfer the profits from the Exchange Fund's investment into the government's coffers to ease the public's tax burden, since such a demand had already been passed by the Legco.

Tsang said he believed the Legco motion did not reflect real public demand and redirecting Exchange Fund profits could negatively effect the stability of government finances. ``I believe this is not what the public wants. I really can't oblige. This is what I call the differences between us. We should not insist on our views, we should find out what the public wants,'' he contended.

When asked by Sin's colleague Cheung Man-kwong whether a motion that had been passed unanimously represented public demand, Tsang said he would first have to examine the motion carefully to see if it was in line with public expectations.

Despite admitting that there was still a gap between him and some lawmakers, Tsang called on all to drop their political stances and to consider instead the expectations of the public, adding that without their support his governance would prove to be an exercise in futility.

``We should set aside our differences and be more tolerant so as to establish effective governance and secure the trust and love of the people,'' Tsang said.

cannix.yau@singtaonewscorp.com