Opinion poll shows people want opinion polls to matter
0 
Almost 95 percent of people expect authorities to use opinion polls when making policies to improve public satisfaction, a China Youth Daily poll shows.
The poll, conducted by the newspaper's Social Investigation Center, surveyed 3,335 people in cities. Almost 72 percent said that their local governments did not "widely" conduct opinion while planning public transportation construction, such as subway routes and bus stop locations, resulting in low public satisfaction with public transportation systems.
An unknown source said that governments of most developed countries collect public opinion before formulating public policy, while opinion polls have little effect on public policy in China.
Zheng Fanghui, a professor at South China University of Technology, said that at present, public opinion polls cannot influence policy-making because officials doubt the accuracy and representativeness of poll results. The Chinese are "not used to participating in opinion polls," Zheng said.
