The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) has announced it will suspend all self-funded research and may “even close down,” weeks after its CEO Robert Chung was investigated by national security police.
Pollster Robert Chung has been taken in by police to assist with investigations twice since PORI’s former deputy CEO Chung Kim-wah, currently in the UK, was added to a wanted list last December over alleged violations of Beijing-imposed national security law.
Robert Chung was first taken in for questioning on January 13, the same day the PORI office was raided. He was taken in a second time later that month.
See also: Explainer: What is PORI and why was it raided by national security police?
PORI will “suspend all its self-funded research activities indefinitely, including regular tracking surveys conducted since 1992, as well as all feature studies recently introduced,” the polling organisation said in a statement on Thursday.
“HKPORI will undergo a transformation or even close down,” while CEO Chung “welcomes interested parties to take over the Institute,” the statement said.
“HKPORI has always been law-abiding, but in the current environment, it has to pause its promotion of scientific polling. The research team hopes there will be another opportunity to resume its work. HKPORI is actively exploring all possible options, it will announce its final decision when the time is right,” it read.
Robert Chung had earlier said PORI’s operations would not be impacted by the arrest warrant issued against Chung Kim-wah, saying the warrant “appears to have no connection to PORI.”
Security minister Chris Tang said last month, after the office raid, that taking Robert Chung in for questioning had “absolutely nothing to do with the results of [PORI’s] polls.”
“The whole investigation is focusing on how [Robert] Chung and his organisation assist the absconder,” he said.
Chung Kim-wah was accused of offences under the national security law: inciting secession and colluding with a foreign country.
A former assistant professor in social sciences at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Chung Kim-wah announced in April 2022 that he had left the city for the UK. He called Hong Kong a place where one may “no longer live normally and without intimidation,” and completed his contract with PORI later that month.
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
latest national security stories
