同路人語
721 人民有知情權
People have the right to know

香港傳來消息, 30多年來在香港大學作民調, 研究社會對政府施政的看法的鍾庭耀博士, 被國安處帶走, 協助調查是否有幫助在逃被通輯人仕。
從1991年開始, 鍾庭耀成立香港大學民意研究計劃,旨在透過民意調查收集數據,研究和分析香港的民意發展, 一直被視為以科學方法研究社會現況。2000年特首董建華被指干預要求港大停止民調發現為真實, 港大校長鄭耀宗及鍾庭耀博士論文導師黃紹倫因事件涉及干遇學術自由而辭職。其後,研究計劃於2019年因鍾庭耀退休而脫離香港大學成為獨立的「香港民意研究所」進行。
國安處也帶走研究所職員協助調查,令人相信研究所工作是調查焦點。
民意調查是科學研究,只論結果的真確性, 而不理會結果是甚麼。進行調研是個人自由,不受法律禁止,只要進行的方法沒有違反其它法律,國家沒有法律可以禁止。若因國家安全而不容許進行調研, 或是認為調研結果會導致國家安全受威脅而不容許進行調研, 背後的假設,是執政者認為人民對社會狀況沒有知情權。
不過,知情權(Right to know)是許多國家法律中定義的人權。 聯合國教育、科學及文化組織定義知情權為「可以知道影響他們的決策,並且可以參與決策,對政府和其他人問責」。
澳洲是民主社會, 各種有關社會的調研無時無刻地在進行,政府可以從不同方法進行的調研去瞭解人民對施政的反應, 從而作出修訂。妄顧民意的政府必然會在選舉中被人民唾棄而失去執政的權利, 因此沒有政府敢挑戰學者進行民意調研的權利。
對澳洲推行多元文化社會進行調研的「史坎倫社會凝聚力」研究已進行17年, 每年對上萬澳洲居民進行調查, 探究多元文化社會發展在澳洲的情況, 高度受到政府重視作為施政的參考。
今期我獲聯邦多元文化部長Julian Hill邀請作獨家專訪, 瞭解他對多元文化政策發展的策略, 作出全面報導, 正是「史坎倫社會凝聚力」研究長期向澳洲國民揭示出社會現況, 令到政府不能不重視的結果。
我相信任何政府都有責任去知道及重視國民對施政的看法, 因此把民意調研視為「危害國家安全」而不去進行, 或禁止進行, 是因噎廢食、掩耳盜鈴、自欺欺人的行為, 對管治者絕對沒有好處。
周偉文, 社長
People have the right to know
News came out from Hong Kong that Dr. Robert Chung, who has been conducting public opinion surveys at the University of Hong Kong for more than 30 years to study the society’s views on the government’s administration, has been taken away by the National Security Bureau to assist in the investigation of whether or not he has assisted fugitive edited persons.
Starting from 1991, Robert Chung established the Public Opinion Programme (POP) at the University of Hong Kong, with the aim of collecting data from public opinion polls to study and analyze the development of public opinion in Hong Kong, which has always been regarded as a scientific approach to study the current situation of the society. In 2000 Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa was accused of interfering in the request for the University of Hong Kong to stop the polls from finding out the truth, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, Cheng Yiu-chung, and the supervisor of the thesis of Dr. Chung, Wong Siu-lun, resigned because of the incident which involved interfering with the academic freedom. Subsequently, the research project was separated from the University of Hong Kong to become an independent “Hong Kong Institute for Public Opinion Research” in 2019 due to Robert Chung’s retirement.
The National Security Bureau has also taken away the staff of the institute to assist in the investigation, which makes us believe that the work of the institute is the focus of the investigation.
Opinion polls are scientific researches, which only focus on the accuracy of the results, regardless of what the results are. Conducting a survey is a personal freedom, not prohibited by law. As long as the method of conducting the survey does not violate other laws, there is no law in a country that can prohibit it. If a survey is not allowed because of national security, or if it is not allowed because the results of the survey will lead to a threat to national security, the underlying assumption is that those in power believe that the people do not have the right to know about the state of the society.
However, the right to know is a human right defined in the laws of many countries. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines the right to know as “the right to be informed about decisions that affect them, and to participate in those decisions, and to hold governments and others accountable”.
Australia is a democratic society. All kinds of social surveys are conducted all the time, and the government can use different methods of surveys to understand the people’s reaction to its policies and make changes accordingly. A government that disregards public opinion is bound to be spurned by the people in the election and lose its right to govern. Therefore, no government dares to challenge the right of academics to conduct opinion polls.
The “Scanlon Social Cohesion” study on the implementation of multiculturalism in Australia has been conducted for 17 years, with tens of thousands of Australian residents surveyed every year, in order to study the development of multiculturalism in Australia, and has been highly regarded by the government as a reference for policy making.
This issue, I was invited by the Federal Minister for Multiculturalism, Mr. Julian Hill, for an exclusive interview to understand his strategy on the development of multiculturalism policy, and to give a comprehensive report, which is the result of the Scanlon Social Cohesion Study’s long history of revealing the current social situation to the Australian people, which has made it impossible for the government to ignore the importance of the study.
I believe it is the responsibility of any government to know and value the views of its citizens on its policies. Therefore, not conducting or banning opinion polls as “jeopardizing national security” is an act of “choking on the food”, “covering up the ears”, and “deceiving oneself and others”, which is definitely not beneficial to the government.
Mr. Raymond Chow, publisher
