Advertisement
Coronavirus pandemic
ChinaPolitics

Mainland Chinese students are heading home to escape Covid-hit Hong Kong

  • Worsening situation and a move to online learning is prompting some to leave the city
  • They worry the border could suddenly close and they might not be able to get back

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
20
Universities have shifted to online learning and students have been asked to move out of dormitories if possible. As the pandemic situation worsens, some mainland students are leaving Hong Kong. Photo: Dickson Lee
Kristin Huang
As Hong Kong grapples with a worsening Covid-19 outbreak and fears of a full lockdown grow, some mainland university students are fleeing the city.
Hong Kong has seen record daily case numbers and deaths in the latest wave, though infections fell for a second day on Sunday, to 31,008. A record 153 deaths were reported.
Hospitals and mortuaries are overwhelmed, people are panic buying, and mass testing of the city’s 7.4 million residents is planned.
Advertisement
For university students, classes and exams are being held online – an arrangement that will continue until at least the end of this semester. Universities have also asked students to move out of dormitories if they can as a precautionary measure.

Hong Kong is a popular destination for students from the mainland. Many come to the city for postgraduate studies, seeking a degree that will be more internationally recognised, or wanting to broaden their network to advance their careers.

Advertisement

There were about 40,000 mainland students enrolled in tertiary courses in the city at the end of 2019, according to the latest available data from the Hong Kong government.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x