Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee has pledged “full support” to the city’s universities to attract foreign students following US President Donald Trump’s move to restrict international enrolment.
“Hong Kong will provide full support to our universities, giving [affected students] the best assistance if they wish to come to Hong Kong,” Lee told lawmakers in Cantonese during a question-and-answer session in the Legislative Council (LegCo) on Thursday.
His remarks come after the US State Department vowed on Wednesday to “aggressively” expel Chinese students and increase scrutiny of future applications from China and Hong Kong. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday ordered a pause in student visa processing until further notice and planned to expand social media vetting.
The Trump administration also attempted last week to ban Harvard University from enrolling foreign nationals. A US judge temporarily blocked the move, calling it unlawful.
Lee said on Thursday that he felt “encouraged” by local universities’ offers of streamlined admission into their programmes for those affected by Trump’s policy.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) are among the higher education institutions in the city that have openly appealed to international students in the US.
Lee also said he could further review the quota for international student intake at local universities if needed, after already doubling the limit to 40 per cent last year.
“I notice that the intake quota can still absorb a lot of students who are facing unfair treatment. I will review the quota if needed,” he said.
He added that the US policy against foreign students provided Hong Kong with an opportunity to bring in talent.
Hong Kong currently offers 30,000 places for international students at its eight publicly funded universities.
Earlier this week, Lee said the city would open its universities to more international students facing “discriminatory and unfair treatment” by the US.
The city’s education minister Christine Choi last week urged local universities to welcome “outstanding students from all over the world.”
‘Burning urgency’
At the LegCo meeting, Lee also agreed with lawmaker Lau Kwok-fan’s suggestion to expedite the establishment of a university town as part of the Northern Metropolis development plan.
Lee said he felt “a burning urgency” to speed up the development of the Northern Metropolis, which will encompass about a third of Hong Kong’s territory in the vast area neighbouring mainland China’s Shenzhen.
Lau, from pro-establishment political party the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), also suggested that the government establish a statutory body to oversee the development plan and draft special legislation that preempts any legal matters in the course of the development.
Lee said the government would consider Lau’s ideas.
The Northern Metropolis, which is set to transform 30,000 hectares of land along the border, will house 2.5 million people and create 500,000 jobs, according to the government.
But villagers who have been living there for decades said their lives would be uprooted by the project, while green groups warned that the development would threaten and damage wetland areas that are home to endangered wildlife.
Last month, the High Court threw out a legal challenge mounted by activists against the San Tin Technopole, a planned tech zone that would be the centre of the Northern Metropolis project.
