The survey, conducted by HAB from May 12 to 16, found that economy-related problems were issues which the public expressed most concern, with 46 percent of the respondents mentioning them.

Labor-related problems ranked second with 42 percent of the respondents mentioning them.

As a result of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak, there was an upsurge of public attention towards medical and health problems in Hong Kong, making it the third most important area of public concern.

The percentage rose abruptly to 33 percent from the usual two percent to three percent in past surveys.

The survey also revealed an increase of public concern in the governance of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, with 22 percent of respondents mentioning it.

The corresponding figures in January 2003 and October 2002 were11 percent and 5 percent respectively.

There has been a distinct increase in public recognition about the government's efforts in resolving the major problems of concern. For SARS-related problems, 88 percent mentioned that government had exerted efforts.

Commenting on the findings, an HAB spokesman said the findings of this survey reflected particularly the impact of the SARS outbreak on the overall public sentiment in Hong Kong.

"We are pleased to note that our community has reacted to this unprecedented crisis with a high degree of resilience and sensibility. We are also thankful that the general public recognized the government's efforts in tackling the SARS-related problems," he added.

The survey was the 104th in the series. A total of 1,597 respondents, aged between 15 and 64, were successfully interviewed over the phone. They were chosen by random through the residential telephone directory.

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2003)