Surge in Hong Kong students applying to mainland universities contrasts sharply with anti-China sentiment
Trend contrasts sharply with anti-mainland sentiment among local students
The number of Hong Kong students applying to mainland universities has seen a tenfold increase over the past decade, despite the common perception that the city’s youth are wary about studying across the border.
Research by the Post found that the percentage of secondary school graduates applying for places at mainland universities swelled from below 1 per cent in 2006 to a peak of over 7 per cent in 2012, followed by a slight tapering to about 6 per cent last year.
The trend contrasted sharply with anti-mainland sentiment among local students, particularly in 2012 when tens of thousands opposed the government’s plans to start teaching national education in the city’s schools.
A tenth of more than 3,500 candidates last year opted to major in Chinese medicine, while more than half of the applicants went to the top institutions in Guangdong, such as Sun Yat-sen University and Jinan University, which are famous for medical studies, a mainland education consultant said.
Only about 20 students went to Peking University, given that most found such prestigious institutions to be too far away and too hard to get into.
Some top secondary school graduates who chose to “go north” told the Post that it was the mainland’s booming economy and comparatively low cost of living that encouraged them to take the leap of faith. But education experts were uncertain if the trend would continue .
“I have to admit that there are a lot of things to be improved in China and the mainland is not as developed as Hong Kong,” John Li Chun-hei, a second-year student majoring in international relations at Peking University, said. “But there’s great potential for further economic growth.”
