Three students heading to Japan for a month-long academic and cultural exchange are prepared for a series of questions about the handover.
Fanny Cheung Chau-wah of City University, Carmen Chan Ka-man of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Tang Yu-nin of the University of Hong Kong will fly to Sophia University, Tokyo, for the 23rd Japan Airlines Scholarship, beginning today.
They will join 40 other students from 12 countries and regions across Asia and Oceania in study programmes, field trips and a conference.
Ms Cheung, an international business graduate, said she faced questions about the handover when she travelled in Europe.
'I told people I don't worry about it, but this time I do hope I can explain things to people who ask,' she said.
Ms Chan, a Year Three anthropology major, told Campus Post that her encounters with foreign students, especially those from the United States, convinced her that sometimes they were more familiar with Chinese issues than she was.
'The US students could recall very accurately details of what China has done. I was surprised by that. Sometimes, they would ask for my opinion about certain events I hadn't even heard of,' she said.