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27-05-2025
HONG KONG/ LONDON: Hong Kong’s Education Bureau said that it had called on universities in the Chinese territory to attract top talent following a ban on Harvard University enrolling foreign students.
US President Donald Trump’s administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students and is forcing current foreign students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status.
The ban, effective for the 2025-2026 school year, comes as the administration said Harvard fostered antisemitism and coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party. Chinese nationals make up about a fifth of Harvard’s foreign student intake in 2024.
“The Education Bureau has promptly called on all universities in Hong Kong to introduce facilitation measures for those eligible with a view to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of students and scholars and to attract top talent,” the bureau said in an emailed statement.
The bureau has contacted the Harvard Club of Hong Kong to offer support for students who have been admitted to Harvard for further studies.
“We will continue to keep a close eye on the needs of students whose studies have been affected by the shifting global education landscape,” it said, adding that it would consider support measures as part of the city’s role as an “international education hub.”
Hong Kong, a former British colony with a population of 7.5 million, has five universities in the top 100 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and was until recently regarded as one of Asia’s freest academic arenas.
Schools and universities in the financial hub are now obliged to integrate national security and patriotic themes into their teaching, bringing them closer in line with education in mainland China.
Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology (HKUST) on Friday announced an open invitation to international undergraduate and postgraduate students at Harvard University, as well as those holding confirmed offers to continue their studies at HKUST.
“The university will provide unconditional offers, streamlined admission procedures, and academic support to facilitate a seamless transition for interested students.”
Thousands of foreign students at Harvard University were stuck in administrative limbo and looking for alternatives on Friday after US President Donald Trump’s administration revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll students from abroad.
Later in the day, a US judge temporarily blocked the move by the Trump administration, hours after Harvard sued it in Boston federal court, leaving the way ahead unclear.
Harvard currently has nearly 7,000 international students, representing about 27% of its total enrollment.
Since taking office in January, Trump has assailed the so-called Ivy League universities, accusing them of fostering anti-American, Marxist and “radical left” ideologies.
While other universities would probably jump at the chance to get more Harvard-level students, taking in swathes of them is unlikely to be easy with only three months left until the start of the next academic year.
Michael Gritzbach, a German student who is studying for a master’s degree in public administration, described the move as a “dream turned into a nightmare”, especially for those who had saved up for years or had won scholarships. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
