MCLC: Fewer mainland applicants to HK universities

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Fewer mainland applicants to HK universities
Source: China Real Time, WSJ (6/25/15)
Fewer Mainland Applicants for Hong Kong Universities
By Isabella Steger and Krystal Hu
Applications to Hong Kong universities by mainland Chinese students have fallen this year, prompting some to wonder whether politics — or something else – is responsible for the drop.
Some universities in Hong Kong told China Real Time they received far fewer applications from mainland China this year compared with previous years.
The Baptist University of Hong Kong — one of eight publicly-funded universities in the city — said it received 2,319 applications for the 2015-2016 school year, down 40% from last year.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University– which has the largest student body among the public universities — said it had about 2,300 applicants from the mainland this year, compared to some 3,500 last year. And Lingnan University — known for its liberal-arts focus — said it received 556 applications from mainland students this year compared to 928 a year ago.
The new figures have prompted Chinese state media to draw a connection between falling interest from mainland students in studying in Hong Kong and the political turmoil that has rocked the city in the past year — most notably during last fall’s student-led Occupy protests, which called for a more democratic electoral system in 2017 in defiance of what Beijing offered.
“Politics is invading universities in Hong Kong,” the Communist Party’s flagship People’s Daily newspaper wrote in a piece published Wednesday, adding that the radicalization of campuses had made it difficult for mainland Chinese students to fit in.
An article in the English-language Global Times attributed the drop to Hong Kong’s “lack of a sense of patriotism, with which mainland students may not be familiar.”
The People’s Daily pointed to the law school of the University of Hong Kong as a particular example of “politicization” and “increasing chaos” at the city’s universities. HKU has been in Beijing’s crosshairs due to its heavy participation in the protests, and Benny Tai, the architect of the original civil disobedience plan known as Occupy Central, is a professor of constitutional law at the school. The university was also cited as a supposed hotbed of Hong Kong independence by the city’s chief executive during his annual policy speech this January.
HKU’s student union has accused the government of interfering with academic freedoms through its attack on the university and has defended its right to discuss the issue of independence.
According to a spokeswoman for HKU, the school’s admissions process is still ongoing and admissions figures will not be available until July. The spokeswoman did not respond to questions about the People’s Daily article. Students from mainland China made up about one-fifth of HKU’s student body last school year, according to figures on the HKU website.
A spokesman for Baptist University said that given that there are now more opportunities for mainland Chinese students to study overseas, it is natural that the number applying to Hong Kong would drop. He added that at the undergraduate level, about 11% of the students come from the mainland.
Several mainlanders studying in Hong Kong told China Real Time that political tensions have added a new factor to the equation for many current and prospective students.
Judy Wang, a student at the University of Hong Kong’s law school, is part of a group that helps mainland high school graduates apply to Hong Kong universities.
“We haven’t seen a drop in the number of people who consult with us compared with last year, but we do feel their main concern has changed,” Ms. Wang told China Real Time. “Parents and students used to ask a lot about opportunities and development in Hong Kong, but now they pay much more attention to safety issues and political demonstrations.”
Max Ling, a junior engineering student at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said that while he was not surprised that there has been a drop in mainland applicants, “the rate shocks me.”
“The main reason lies in conflict between Hong Kong and mainland China these years, which is intensified by unfair media reports from both sides,” Mr. Ling said.
by denton.2 at osu.edu on June 25, 2015
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