Eight public universities in Hong Kong have signed a new accountability agreement requiring them to follow the “advice and guidance” of the central government and align with the remarks of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The eight signatories are the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University, and the Education University of Hong Kong.
The publicly funded institutions signed the University Accountability Agreement with the University Grants Committee (UGC) for the 2025-28 period last month, setting out overall strategic directions, funding allocation principles, and performance indicators.
The signed agreements, uploaded to the UGC website on June 30, called on universities to seize opportunities to contribute to Hong Kong’s integration into the overall development of mainland China, with an emphasis on “invigorating China through science and education.”
The phrase was first used by President Xi at the opening session of China’s 20th Party Congress on October 16, 2022.
According to the new agreement, universities “should also strive to follow the advice and guidance of the Central Government on the future of Hong Kong, particularly in light of the ‘four musts’ and ‘four proposals,’ and observe President Xi Jinping’s remark on creating strong impetus for Hong Kong’s growth and nurturing young talents for Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity.”
Xi mentioned the “four musts” and “four proposals” in his speech when he visited Hong Kong in July 2022 to mark the city’s 25th Handover anniversary and to swear in the new chief executive, John Lee.
Local media reported on Monday that this was the first time the UGC agreement had explicitly required local universities to follow the guidance of the central government since they began signing the three-year contracts in 2019.
The new agreement instructed universities to strengthen education on China’s Constitution, Hong Kong’s Basic Law, and the national security law. This, the agreement said, would help nurture future leaders with “a strong sense of integrity, law-abidingness, civic responsibility, work ethics, and mutual respect.”
The UGC may adjust funding in cases of “serious circumstances,” such as a “major deficiency” in university governance or the management of public funds, a “significant failure” to fulfil obligations stated in the agreement, or a “serious contravention” of funding conditions.
Funding may also be adjusted in response to unsatisfactory enrolment and admission outcomes or violations of Hong Kong laws.
In April last year, Hong Kong ranked in the bottom 10 to 20 per cent among 179 countries and regions in the Academic Freedom Index 2024 compiled by researchers from the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, in Germany, and V-Dem in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The index assessed the city’s freedom to research and teach, academic exchange and dissemination, institutional autonomy, campus integrity, as well as academic and cultural expression.
