Trust Polarization in Hong Kong: Institution and Identity

• In Event: Government Trust in China: Determinants, Trends and Methodology

Abstract

Polarization of political trust suggests a diminishing middle ground where compromise and consensus can be achieved. Focusing on Hong Kong, this study analyzes multiple surveys to show the trend of trust polarization, where both strong trust and strong distrust in the central government have been increasing since the transfer of sovereignty in 1997. It finds that the lacking support for the institution of “one country two systems,” rather than a localist identity, fuels trust polarization. However, this polarizing factor only became significant after the 2014 Umbrella Movement, along with the demographic variables of employment, education, and generation. These findings suggest that the past two decades of implementing “one country two systems” have generated diverging emphasis on its two inherently competing components, resulting in misaligned perceptions on what’s promised and what’s delivered. Without resolving the different views on this fundamental institution, trust polarization is likely to continue.

Authors

• Dan Chen, University of Richmond

• Wenbin Li