Pro-democracy camp to follow simple majority in poll

The pro-democracy camp should stay or quit Legislative Council if more than 50 percent of all respondents decided one way or other, pollster Robert Chung Ting-yiu proposed.

The Democratic Party invited The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute to conduct the poll deciding if they should stay in the one-year transition. They had a meeting today with institute president Robert Chung.

After the meeting, party chairman Wu Chi-wai said Chung wanted to invite the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Centre for Communication and Public Opinion Survey to assist in the polling.

Chung proposed that results should be binding only when either one of two thresholds were met - when more than 50 per cent of the overall respondents decided either way, or if more than two-thirds of pro-democracy supporters did so.

Democratic Party want the institution to poll 2,000 to 3,000 individuals, which will be more than usual polls. The time needed and cost should be taken into account, Chung said.

Debates will take place before polls commence, giving citizens a wider perspective of the pros and cons of their stay.

Fellow Democrat Lam Cheuk-ting urged the public to take into account the consequences of pan-democrat lawmakers leaving the legco, that they can no longer fight against “evil bills” pushed by the government.