Attitudes Towards Occupy Central and Factors That Influence Attitudes

Abstract

This paper quantitatively and qualitatively analyzes people’s attitudes towards Occupy Central and what factors influenced their attitudes. The data was collected by using questionnaires sent out by investigators in Hong Kong, mainland China and through the Internet, using Qualtrics, provided by the Teachers College of Columbia University. At the beginning, information about Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Occupy Central is given, followed by an introduction of purpose and methodology. Then, data analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, is shown, followed by a discussion about the results of the analysis and conclusions. The key research questions were about how people’s attitudes towards Occupy Central were influenced by eleven factors: gender, age, occupation, residency, travel experience, whether they have children under the age of eighteen, their knowledge about Occupy Central, their accessibility to Occupy Central, the influence Occupy Central had on them, their ideas about a region’s development and their ideas about a country’s development. An analysis of statistical data, with tests of mean scores and t-tests, suggested some factors that influence people’s attitude. People’s occupations played a role in influencing their attitudes, especially between government officers and people from other sectors. How people were influenced significantly affected their attitudes with a more negative attitude related to negative influences. People’s residency also influenced people’s attitudes with people from the mainland China holding more negative attitudes towards Occupy Central than Hong Kong residents and with people from other places holding the most positive attitudes. The ideological difference in development of a region and a country also played an important role in influencing people’s attitudes.