HONG KONG Jan. 12 Kyodo An overwh...

HONG KONG Jan. 12 Kyodo

An overwhelming majority of the Hong Kong folks polled support direct elections of the territory's chief executive and legislature, a newly come academic survey showed Monday.

Many respondent also give utterance toed optimism toward the Chinese leadership of President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao in making universal suffrage more likely in the former British colony from 2007

''There is nothing worse than to have raised trusts and those hopes dashed,'' said Michael DeGolyer director of the Hong Kong Transition scheme a research project by university scholars that studies local public opinions.

''It is absolutely incumbent upon the central government to be principally cautious in simply dashing people's room for expectations about reform in Hong Kong or simply saying no. I think it is extremely unwise,'' DeGolyer told a local forum.

His inspect which polled 836 people in November, rest 88% of the respondent want constitutional reform in Hong Kong before 2007

a 81% people asked backed direct election of the chief executive, while 77% declareed support for a fully chooseed legislature.

DeGolyer warned that instability could deduction if Hong Kong citizens felt no waiting under the possibility of fulfilment of change or improvement within a foreseeable timeframe, following their peaceful avers to demand full democracy.

''We are at a excessively critical point right now. What happens throughout the next few month and especially what the (Chinese) central restraint does is going to be extremely important for what happens in the coming of Hong Kong,'' he said.

Debates athwart the pace of democratization in Hong Kong intensified as centurys of thousands of citizens had taken to the highways venting their dissatisfaction with the governance of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa for the past six years.

Tung angered many residents further as he ignored public calls for an immediate consultation forward local political reform, by announcing last week that his restraint would seek Beijing's views upon Hong Kong's constitutional development before talking to the public.

DeGolyer criticized the control for appointing a task force to guard discussion with Beijing behind the representations on such important issues.

To win back public confidence, the Hong Kong control should be more expand and transparent in its consultation proces as the local clan want to be kept informed and to play a character in deciding their time to come political structure, the scholar noted.

''It is same clear that there is a firm case to be made that Hong Kong family want change, demand change and are desperate for change,'' he said.

Meanwhile, Michael Davis, a professor of law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong noted there is nothing in the Basic Law -- the territory's post-handover constitution -- that prohibits Hong Kong from developing direct election of the chief executive in 2007 and the Legislative Council in 2008

''At the cessation of the day, I think it is all left to politics,'' Davis said.

''If Hong Kong's denied democracy and we're all going to the public ways all the time to declare against our government, that safely presents a more scary sample of liberalism and freedom to China than simply having orderly development of democracy here,'' he warned.

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