National security law won’t affect overseas students much in Hong Kong’s universities, PolyU deputy president says

Name: The saga of the siege at Hong Kong's PolyU
Uploaded: 2020-07-05T04:30:13.000Z
Duration: 9 min 9 s
Description: The saga of the siege at Hong Kong's PolyU

Universities’ good reputations remain a draw; legislation expected to have ‘limited impact’ at PolyU

But Hong Kong institution records sharp decline in applications for postgraduate courses, with mainlanders staying away

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Polytechnic University in Hung Hom underwent renovations following the campus occupation by radical protesters last year. Photo: Nora Tam

Chan Ho-him

Published: 12:30pm, 5 Jul 2020Updated: 10:56pm, 5 Jul 2020

Hong Kong’s universities are likely to continue attracting international students despite the introduction of a sweeping national security law, according to Polytechnic University’s deputy president and provost Alexander Wai Ping-kong.

“Universities in Hong Kong have a good reputation and do well in international rankings. Many students from mainland China and overseas are still interested in studying here,” he said in an interview with the Post on Friday.

He also expected the law to have only a limited impact on PolyU’s academic and research activities.

For the coming academic year, however, the combination of last year’s anti-government protests and the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a sharp decline in applications from non-local students, particularly from mainland China, for taught postgraduate programmes.

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The saga of the siege at Hong Kong's PolyU

Wai, a PolyU veteran of more than two decades, revealed that the university received about 20,000 applications for taught postgraduate programmes this year, a steep 28 per cent decline from last year.