Bright minds for a bickering city: Hong Kong students earn Oxford scholarships as foundation seeks to groom civic leaders
Tycoon Walter Kwok sponsors four students to read public policy at top British institution
A scholarship programme to one of the world's leading universities aims to cultivate future local leaders as the recipients pursue public policy studies.
Four students will be heading to Oxford University. The two undergraduates and two graduate-level students received scholarships from the Walter Kwok Foundation, sponsored by local businessman Walter Kwok Ping-sheung.
Since 2012, ten students from the mainland and Hong Kong have been awarded the prize, which previously included a chance to study a master's degree in public policy at Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government. Next month the two undergraduate students have the opportunity to study a three-year philosophy, politics and economics degree at Oxford.
Charlie Wang Luo-dan, 18, originally from the mainland, is one of the two undergraduate scholarship recipients.
Wang, who moved to Hong Kong at 14, said while he intended to make a difference through public policy work with the Hong Kong or mainland governments, he was not certain what awaited him beyond his studies in Britain.
"Just look at Hong Kong's political landscape one year ago. No one would have anticipated Occupy Central at all, so how could we anticipate what we'll do after three years if you ask us now?" he said.