More mainland Chinese students may opt for alternative destinations for university study due to rising tensions with the US, but Hong Kong’s institutions should nonetheless raise their intake of foreign applicants gradually and maintain their quality, the education minister has said.
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Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said during a radio show on Saturday that Hong Kong’s universities had always been attractive to foreign students regardless of geopolitics, but current tensions could now mean more potential applicants from the mainland.
“There have always been many [mainland students applying to Hong Kong universities]. With many uncertain factors in the United States, parents will have to consider other study locations,” Choi said.
“I’ve noticed that there have also been fewer Hong Kong students studying abroad in the United States.”
Choi’s comments followed media reports earlier this month that more than 1,000 international students in the US had had their visas revoked, with no reasons given by the new Trump administration. The students could face deportation under the country’s aggressive clampdown against illegal immigrants.
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According to an official survey of Hong Kong Form Six students in 2024 by the Education Bureau, the US was the least popular study destination among six places including mainland China, the UK, Australia, Canada and Taiwan.