Students in the campus of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology on Tuesday.

The number of Hong Kong students studying at Chinese mainland universities has reached a record high over the past eight years, with more and more students eyeing information technology-related majors, as well as the chance to work in the mainland. 

Hoying arrived at the campus of the prestigious Tsinghua University days earlier than her fellow freshmen, hoping to give herself a head start in her studies. 

Hong Kong-born and bred, Hoying's desire to study in the Chinese mainland grew as she kept herself informed about developments in the mainland since she was a junior school student. She finally got to live in Beijing in 2015 after enrolling at Renmin University of China. 

Hoying hopes to work at an internet company in the mainland. She said food delivery apps, such as elema.com and Meituan Dianping, eased her transition upon arrival. 

She is one of the Hong Kong students who chose to "go north" for further studies.

More than 10,000 Hong Kong high school graduates applied to universities in the Chinese mainland in 2019, a new high over the past eight years, 21st Century Business Herald reported. 

Hong Kong students can apply to mainland universities through college entrance exams specially designed for them by the Ministry of Education, a Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE), also known as Hong Kong's university entrance examination, or through principal references. 

Ana Lo, a senior majoring in environmental science at Tsinghua University, who also participated in the school's admission process in Hong Kong, noticed the growing number of Hong Kong students who have showed strong interest in mainland universities in the past three years. 

In an interview with the Global Times, Lo attributed the increase to a greater acceptance of universities in the mainland, such as Tsinghua University, and the Hong Kong students hope for a better life in the mainland. 

Aside from the increase in numbers, Bai Yu, from the admission office of Wuhan University in Central China's Hubei Province, said Hong Kong students' preferences have also changed. 

"The number of Hong Kong students studying computer science and other information technology-related fields has increased in recent years, as they are eyeing job opportunities at mainland internet companies," said Bai. 

Attracted by the fast development of Chinese internet companies, Hoying changed her major to mass communication for graduate school studies for a better understanding of the internet giants. 

Hoying said that Chinese internet giants' leading role worldwide attracted her. "Seeing the innovation and hard work at some internet companies also makes me want to join them," she said. 

Twenty-three-year-old Lam Tsz-kam has his own reasons for "going north." 

"The Basic Law states that the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged (in Hong Kong) for 50 years, but what about afterwards? Seeing the rapid development of the Chinese mainland in recent years, I feel I can find answers there," Lam, a political and public administration science major at Peking University, told the Global Times. 

On the ongoing protests back in his hometown, Lam said that some Hong Kong youngsters are taking the opportunity to vent their anger about real-life frustrations, such as skyrocketing housing prices and rising unemployment. 

Several Hong Kong students reached by the Global Times admitted that many of their peers spurn opportunities to work and study in the mainland as they always view the latter's development with prejudice. 

One of their problems is that they have attached their future to the little island while neglecting the vast opportunities in the Chinese mainland, according to Lam. 

Roughly a third of Hong Kong students graduating from Fudan University in Shanghai choose to stay in Shanghai, Zhuang Hui, an employee at Fudan University's admission office, told the Global Times, noting that the number of students who have decided to stay has increased in recent years.

Several students reached by the Global Times also said they felt twitchy given recent turbulence in Hong Kong. They are afraid the situation may put them at odds with their classmates. 

Gorson Lee, a junior student from Hong Kong who studies at Jinan University in South China's Guangzhou Province, was bombarded by questions about the radical protests in Hong Kong. 

Lee patiently explained the situation to anyone who asks him about it. "I always stress that they (the violent protesters) are just a small number; not all young Hong Kong people are like that."

Lam also noted that every time he goes back to Hong Kong for a holiday, his friends will ask about things related to studying in the mainland, such as  about mainland students and whether they take political and history classes. 

Normally, students from Hong Kong, Macao and the island of Taiwan are not required to take such classes at some mainland universities. 

Lam takes the absence of such classes as one of the culprits of the recent turmoil in Hong Kong. He said some young people there are indifferent to politics and history, and have been "poisoned" by Hong Kong's general education. 

"To my Hong Kong friends, taking such classes is strange. But I found it interesting after I gave it a try," said Lee.

At an ideological and political class, Lee was impressed by the lecturer's thought-provoking eloquence and students' robust discussion about current international and domestic affairs.

Political and history classes in Hong Kong's high schools pale compared to the classes from the mainland in terms of timeliness and profundity, said the two Hong Kong students. Lam gave an example of his high school textbook still talking about agricultural tax in the Chinese mainland, which was abolished as early as 2006.

Zhuang said that in order to enhance students' recognition of their own identity, Fudan University opened a supplementary class for students from Hong Kong, Macao and the island of Taiwan about the country's situation. 

"This is a selective course. We invited well-known professors to give seminars and organized students in field trips. The class is packed every semester, with many students asking for expanded capacity," said Zhuang. 


Newspaper headline: More HK students eye mainland studies, jobs