About seven in 10 young people have less confidence in the rule of law in Hong Kong than they did before the 2019 social unrest, a survey by an influential youth group has found.

Some 45 per cent also said they believed the government could exert influence on the courts, and close to three in 10 indicated they would not follow laws they deemed unreasonable.

The study was conducted by Youth IDEAS, a research centre under the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, between September 14 and 18. A total of 529 residents aged from 15 to 34 were interviewed on their views about the rule of law in the city. About half of the respondents were reported to have a university qualification or above.

According to the survey findings, released on Sunday, 70.1 per cent of respondents said they did not have as much confidence in the rule of law as before the 2019 protests. Only 2.3 per cent said they now had more confidence.

Confidence in the rule of law is falling among young people.

Almost 80 per cent said they had less confidence in police, while 1.9 per cent felt the opposite.

And 59 per cent said their confidence in the Department of Justice had also weakened after the unrest, with only 2.3 per cent indicating the opposite. About 48 per cent did not have as much confidence in judges now. Only 2.5 per cent said they had more confidence.

While 73.5 per cent indicated they “very much agree” or “fairly agree” that it was important to observe the law, 27.2 per cent said they would not follow ones they deemed unreasonable.

The most cited reason was that “one should not observe laws that are not reasonable”.

Some 45 per cent “very much agree” or “fairly agree” that the government can influence the court’s judgments. Another 42 per cent indicated they were “half-half” and only 12.8 per cent said they “fairly disagree” or “very much disagree” with the statement.

Almost 80 per cent of yound people said they had less confidence in police.

One-quarter “very much agree” or “fairly agree” there is no independent judiciary, some 47.6 per cent were “half-half” about the statement and 27 per cent said they “fairly disagree” or “very much disagree”.

And only 18.3 per cent said they trusted that court trials were fair, with 19.1 per cent indicating they believed otherwise. Some 62.4 per cent were unsure, indicating “half-half”.

The survey found that the top three sources from which young people learned about the rule of law were television, social media and online platforms.

Youth IDEAS member Alan Yip Tsz-chung said it was the responsibility of “all and every one of the members of society” to safeguard the culture of rule of law and called for more education.

“More promotion on the contents of the law is not enough. There should also be the need to educate the public on the rationale behind a law,” Yip said.

Fellow member Tony Tsui Ka-ho also urged the government to undertake more consultations when drafting new laws.

Results of the Youth IDEAS survey were released on Sunday.

Hong Kong was gripped by months of social unrest triggered in mid-2019 by a now-abandoned extradition bill with the campaign later morphing into a wider anti-government movement.

The judiciary frequently found itself under fire from both sides of the political divide for its rulings on cases relating to the protests, with judges often the target. Some anti-government supporters had accused judges of being too harsh while others said they were too lenient on those arrested in relation to the unrest.

Established in 1960, the federation is the city’s biggest youth service organisation, with a membership of more than 300,000. It is funded mostly by government subsidies as well as grants from charities and private and corporate donations.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and former chief justice Ti-liang Yang are its patron and vice-patron respectively.

The Post has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.