In the face of volatility in China's stock market and a series of government policies to cool down the sector, there seems to be as many individual investors wanting to stay on in stocks as those determined to pull out.

According to an online poll conducted by www.chinadaily.com.cn, 680 of the 1,479 respondents, or 45.45 percent, said they will not continue to put money into the stock market, while 609, or 40.71 percent, said they plan to keep on investing in shares. The rest declined to comment.

China's stock market has been booming, with the Shanghai Composite Index up more than 200 percent in less than 18 months.

But because of the central government's policies ranging from raising banks' reserve ratio and deposit and lending rates to widening the daily interbank trading band of the renminbi exchange rate against the US dollar as well as raising the stamp tax on securities trading, the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges have been on a roller-coaster ride since May.

Speculation about a possible capital gains tax following the stamp tax rise caused China's benchmark stock index to plunge more than 20 percent in less than a week.

Some respondents said they have decided to stop playing the stock market as they believe the cooling down policies have set in motion a downward spiral for the composite index.

"The market looks crazy these days," said a respondent. "My intuition is that there is something wrong in the market, thus I have to leave."

Another respondent said she will not put money in the stock market, and that most of her friends have sold their stocks already.

Some said they will not buy stocks at this time and adopt a wait-and-see policy. "I'll wait till the market consolidates, probably at 3,500 points," one said. "Before that happens, I'm not putting in anything."

But many investors see shares as a long-term investment and prefer to keep investing in them. Many among them believe that the government's moves are just aimed at cooling things down a little and that the government is not willing - and cannot afford - to trigger a sharp market decline that will hurt all investors.

"The market has risen so much not only because of speculation-driven bubbles but because of China's sound economic fundamentals," said a respondent.

The Chinese economy has grown by double digits in recent years with few signs of a slowdown. And the regulators' paramount responsibility is an orderly market free from manipulation, not force the market to stay down, said some. "It's in individual investor's best interest to adopt a value-based long-term strategy, one that can ignore losses from short-term corrections while profiting handsomely in the long term as China's market matures and the economy develops fast and in a sustainable manner.

"After plunges for several days, it's the best time to invest in the stock market. Seize this opportunity, and do not ignore the chance of making money," one respondent said.

Some participants in the survey attributed their inclination toward stocks to limited investment channels in China.

"The interest rate is too low. Putting money in the bank is equivalent to losing it; if the interest rate is increased to 6 percent, I will perhaps give up stocks," said a respondent.

Others complained that the property market is too high, the stock market is too risky, while there are few channels for the middle class to invest.