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Dr. Robert Chung ( zh, t=鍾庭耀, j=Zung1 Ting4-jiu6) is a Hong Kong academic. He is president and chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, an independent institute since May 2019 and the successor organisation of the (POP) of the
University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...
, of which he was long-time head.
In 2000, Chung wrote an academic article stating that he felt pressure to stop conducting public opinion research polls. Later known as the 'Robert Chung affair', his article showed that freedom of speech was still alive in Hong Kong.
Education and career
Chung graduated from
Diocesan Boys' School
The Diocesan Boys' School (DBS) is a day and boarding Anglican boys' school in Hong Kong, located at 131 Argyle Street, Hong Kong, Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon near Mong Kok East station. The school's mission is "to provide a liberal educat ...
. He obtained his bachelor's degree, Master of Philosophy in Sociology and PhD Degree from The University of Hong Kong. His fields of research interest include electoral studies, political culture, public opinion, rural politics, mobility studies, media performance, youth culture and tradition in modernity.
He joined the Social Sciences Research Centre of the University of Hong Kong when it was established in 1987. In 1991, he set up the POP within the centre and began to study the development of
public opinion
Public opinion is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to a society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them.
Etymology
The term "public opinion" was derived from the French ', which was first use ...
in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. To match the development of the university, Chung and his POP team was transferred to the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the university on 1 May 2000, and then back to the Faculty of Social Sciences on 1 January 2002.
The programme regularly conducts independent surveys, covers media development, and launches electoral studies, policy issues, and youth studies. Under his leadership, the programme is famous for being impartial and professional, and is a highly respected public opinion study programme in the region. Its studies are widely covered in mass media and frequently cited in academic publications.
Chung has written numerous articles on public opinion and social surveys published in various journals and periodicals, and is the Chief Editor of the monthly POP newsletter, ''POP Express'', and of the HKU POP Site.
In addition, Chung is a member of the Television Programme Advisory Panel of
Radio Television Hong Kong
Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...
(RTHK) and also of the Television Programme Appreciation Index Research Panel. From 1993 to 1994, Chung served as a part-time community panellist of the
Central Policy Unit
The Central Policy Unit, established in 1989, was responsible for advising the Chief Executive (previously the Governor) of Hong Kong. It was replaced with the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Unit in 2018.
Previous heads
* Leo Goodstadt ( ...
of the Hong Kong Government. He then became a part-time member of the Central Policy Unit between 1994 and 1999. Between 1997 and 2003, he served as a member of the Community Research Sub-committee of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Community Relations of the
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), and between 1998 and 2003, as a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Community Relations.
Internationally, he has been the Hong Kong representative at the
World Association for Public Opinion Research
The World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) is an international professional association of researchers in the field of survey research. It is a member organization of the International Science Council.
History
Established in 194 ...
(WAPOR) for a number of years. From 2006 to 2008, Chung was the elected Secretary-Treasurer of WAPOR. He was elected as WAPOR president for 2023–2024. He is also a member of the editorial board of the
International Journal of Public Opinion Research
The ''International Journal of Public Opinion Research'' (''IJPOR'') is a quarterly social science journal sponsored by the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) and published by Oxford University Press.
Since 1994, WAPOR bestows ...
.
Issues concerning academic freedom
In the summer of 2000, he sparked a controversy over the alleged government interference in his Public Opinion Programme. He alleged that he had received political pressure from
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...
Tung Chee-hwa
Tung Chee-hwa (; born 7 July 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He is currently a vice-chairman of the Chin ...
through
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
Cheng Yiu-chung and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Wong Siu-lun to discontinue his public opinion polls on Tung and his government.
Although the allegations were denied by Tung and HKU, controversy erupted over the question of political interference in
academic freedom
Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teac ...
. HKU set up a three-member panel led by
Justice Noel Power to investigate Chung's claims. After 11 days of open hearings in August, the panel concluded that there were what it called "covert attempts" to pressure Chung into discontinuing his polls. The panel concluded that Chung was "an honest witness who was telling the truth in relation to the matters he is complaining about", but "neither Lo
he Chief Executive's Senior Special Assistantnor the vice chancellor disclosed the full and truthful extent of what was said in
hemeetings". The saga ended with the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong – Cheng Yiu-chung and Wong Siu-lun respectively – just before the University Council met on 9 September to vote on whether or not to accept the panel's report. At the end, Chung's Public Opinion Programme continued to function and went from strength to strength in the years following, becoming arguably Hong Kong's most authoritative source of public opinion information and assessment.
Hall education
Alongside his academic study, Chung is also a firm supporter on Hall Education. Living in St. John's College of the university during his undergraduate and postgraduate study, he later became the residential tutor in Old Halls and
Swire Hall. He has been the Warden of R. C. Lee Hall from 1992. Although he said that he had learned a lot from St. John's College, he thinks, apart from the traditional hall education in the university, which primarily advocates
collectivism
Collectivism may refer to:
* Bureaucratic collectivism, a theory of class society whichto describe the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin
* Collectivist anarchism, a socialist doctrine in which the workers own and manage the production
* Collectiv ...
, focuses on inter-hall competition and creates greater social pressure among residents, there are other possible ways to conduct education in halls. Such belief is reflected by the past and current Motto of R. C. Lee Hall, respectively ''Hall with a Mission'' and ''Liberty with Responsibility, Unity in Diversity''.
Interests
Chung is also very keen on sports. While
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
is his favourite sport, he has passion for
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
,
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
,
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
,
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
and
windsurfing
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
, and participated in
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
,
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
,
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
,
squash
Squash may refer to:
Sports
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling
* Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
, and
badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...
inter-hall competitions in the university . He has been coach of the hockey teams of the university and his hall.
In addition to sport, Chung is interested in
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
.
References
External links
POP website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, Robert
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Hong Kong social scientists
University of Hong Kong faculty