Public opinion about the quality of life in Hong Kong has improved in tandem with people's satisfaction with the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, according to an index compiled by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

According to the Hong Kong Quality of Life Index, released yesterday, public satisfaction with the government's performance reached a new high of 8.39 in 2006, following a rise to 8.08 in 2005 from 6.29 in 2004 and from 4.76 in 2002.

Public satisfaction with the HKSAR government and central government is also reflected by a drop in press criticism, said Paul Lee, dean of the Faculty of Social Science and a professor of journalism at CUHK.

"There's a steady decline from 4.33 in 2004 to 3.75 in 2005 and 3.68 last year, which indicates that Hong Kong citizens are in general happy with the government under the leadership of Chief Exectuive Donald Tsang," Lee said.

As the local economy improved throughout last year and the unemployment rate dropped, it appears more citizens have been buying their own homes. The housing affordability ratio rose to 3.54 last year from 3.19 in 2005.

There was also an increase in the age participation rate for first-degree and post-graduate programs at local universities. The index stood at 5.03 in 2006, compared with 4.92 in 2005 and 4.89 in 2004.

The findings also show a mild drop in real wages and rental affordability, said Andy Kwan, associate director of CUHK's Centre for Quality of Life and a professor of economics.

"Rental hikes are inevitable when the economy prospers, and it takes time for people's wages to catch up with inflation," said Kwan. "There may be an uptrend of pay rises in Hong Kong in 2007."

There were also fluctuations in the environmental sub-index, as the air index was at 4.88 and the noise index at 5.92, both of which were slight declines from the previous year's figures.

Nevertheless, the overall quality of life reflected an improvement, with the score increasing to 108.47 last year from 108.34 in 2005 and 105.78 in 2004.

Released annually since 2003, the CUHK Hong Kong Quality of Life Index is a composite index that covers social, economic and environmental sub-indexes. It aims to keep track of Hong Kong's quality of life in the 21st century and to provide policy makers and the community with a reference tool.

(China Daily August 17, 2007)