Hong Kong University of Science and Technology on Friday extended an invitation to foreign students currently studying at Harvard, as well as to anyone with a place at the prestigious school, to pursue their education at HKUST Hong Kong has announced that it will accept more foreign students at its universities, mentioning those impacted by the US government’s decision this week to deny Harvard the ability to admit foreign nationals.
The sudden spike in US President Donald Trump’s long-running battle with the world-renowned university came as relations between Washington and Beijing heat up over trade disputes as well as other matters.
The Trump administration’s move on Thursday – which was temporarily blocked by a US court following a lawsuit by Harvard – has plunged the future of thousands of foreign students and the lucrative revenue stream they generate into uncertainty. On Friday, Hong Kong Education Secretary Christine Choi urged universities in the Chinese city to open their doors to “outstanding students from around the world”.
“For international students impacted by the United States’ student admission policy, the Education Bureau (EDB) has invited all of Hong Kong’s universities to offer facilitation arrangements to deserving students,” Choi said in a statement, as she mentioned the ban on Harvard’s admission of international students.
She added that local universities were taking advantage of government policies, such as easing the upper limits on foreign students to lure more to Hong Kong. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology on Friday extended invitations to international students already studying at Harvard, and to all those with offers to study at the elite institution, to pursue their studies at HKUST.
