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INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION

Mainland Chinese Students in Hong Kong and Macau

Mei Li
Mei Li is senior lecturer in the Institute of Higher Education at East China Normal University. Address: Institute of Higher Education, School of Educational Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China. E-mail: limeiwang@yahoo.com.

The cross-border mobility of students represents a crucial aspect of the internationalization of higher education. The outflow of students from mainland China has long been a striking phenomenon given the imbalance between higher education supply and demand at home. While serving as a major source of foreign students in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan, mainland China also sends increasing numbers of students to Hong Kong and Macau (former British and Portuguese colonies, respectively), which became China's special administrative regions (SARs) in 1997 and 1999. Hong Kong has US$24,000 per capita GDP and a population of 6,940,000 and Macau US$18,000 and 498,000, respectively, in 2005. As parts of China, but differing from the mainland in laws, currencies, and educational systems, the two SARs can be considered hybrid systems that combine Western elements into Chinese settings—between domestic and foreign. They play a dual role as destinations in themselves and as stepping-stones for mainland students' international mobility.

The flow has changed rapidly with the expansion and diversification of mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong and Macau in the postcolonial era. Hong Kong institutions compete fiercely with mainland counterparts for high-quality students, raising the alarm of competition. In 2006 Hong Kong and Macau recruited 1,300 and 1,200 mainland undergraduate students, respectively, and most are fee-paying ones.

A questionnaire-based survey of 323 mainland students was conducted in 2003, searching mainland students' perceptions. In each SAR, the focus was on two institutions: the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of Macau, and the Macau University of Science and Technology. Among the samples, 85.9 percent of the respondents in Hong Kong were postgraduate students on scholarships. By contrast, 89.7 percent in Macau were self-financed undergraduate students. Differences were found in degree level, academic background, age and financing, which led to distinctions of their perceptions on reasons, motivations, and career plan.

Why Students Choose Hong Kong and Macau
The three main reasons why mainland students chose Hong Kong and Macau were different: in Hong Kong the reasons affirmed were scholarships (73.4%), the quality and reputation of host institution (55.9%), and convenience regarding home visits (25.4%); while in Macau they were the possible opportunity to go abroad (60.3%), easy admission (50.7%), and the value of degree in terms of employment (43.2%). Many students identified Macau as a stepping-stone to destinations outside China, while most students in Hong Kong were attracted by the scholarships and reputation of the host university.

The top three reasons given by respondents for not having chosen universities on the mainland were as follows: the lower higher education quality levels in China (50.0%), the lack of internationalization (44.9%), and the inability to secure scholarships (33.5%) in Hong Kong. The problems in their homeland mentioned by mainland students in Macau were: lack of internationalization (44.5%), difficulty to improve foreign languages (35.6%), and lack of suitable programs (29.5%).

These findings indicate consistent views on the absence of internationalization of universities on the mainland, which reflects that mainland institutions do not conform to international practice and have limited global links and a small percentage of international faculty and students. Institutions in Hong Kong and Macau mostly adopt a bilingual (English and Chinese) medium of instruction. The University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology use English as the official language of administration and teaching.

The respondents, 20.3 percent in Macau and 3.4 percent in Hong Kong, indicated that they could not gain admission in mainland China. Thus the majority of enrollments in the survey represented differentiated rather than excess demand; but this pattern was especially prominent in Hong Kong.

When asked why they did not go further afield for their studies, 80.6 percent in Hong Kong and 95.1 percent in Macau cited the difficulty of applying, getting visas, and securing places. However, these figures may reflect perceptions rather than reality: in practice it may be not so difficult to gain access to at least some overseas universities. Overseas study does, however, require language competence; and 37.8 percent of Macau respondents viewed their foreign-language competence as inadequate for study abroad, compared with 10.3 percent of Hong Kong respondents. The absence of required foreign-language proficiency in Macau and the partial absence in Hong Kong increase the attractiveness of the territories in comparison with foreign locations.

Student Motivations
The data show that students' priorities varied among different groups. The postgraduate students maintained a stronger academic rationale than the undergraduates, who placed more stress on economic interests. The self-financed students paid more attention to the economic benefit than the scholarship holders, who focused more on professional and academic enhancement. However, all students cared much more about their personal interests and self-development than the broader social benefits.

Mainland students in Hong Kong anticipated these four benefits from the degrees pursued: academic ability (69.0%), social and cultural experience (63.3%), income level (51.7%), and competitive ability in the employment market (45.2%). In Macau, students cited economic income (77.2%), competitive ability in the employment market (65.8%), social and cultural experience (51.0%), and academic ability (42.1%). Thus the mainland students in Macau valued economic factors much more than their counterparts in Hong Kong; and the students in Hong Kong valued academic enhancement. Both groups valued the social and cultural benefits.

Career Plans
Many respondents stated that they planned to go abroad after graduation—28.4 percent in Hong Kong and 44.8 percent in Macau. In addition, 45.2 percent in Hong Kong and 39.6 percent in Macau looked forward to going wherever they could find opportunities for personal development. In Hong Kong, 23.3 percent of respondents indicated that they would return to the mainland, while the proportion in Macau was 4.9 percent. Only 2.8 percent in Hong Kong and 11.0 percent in Macau indicated that they would stay in the host territory.

These findings reveal the distinctive characteristics of mainland students in the SARs, compared with their counterparts in mainland China and in foreign countries. Many chose to go to SARs because they saw the territories as a transit station and the several years as a stage in preparation for lifelong careers or for going abroad. Compared with students who remained on the mainland, these mobile students might be somewhat more international. However, compared with Chinese students in foreign countries, they were less distant from their homes and had a stronger potential to return.

To some extent, Hong Kong and Macau still play the role as the bridges for mainland students' international mobility. However, this role has been challenged by the increasing direct cooperation and exchange between foreign institutions and mainland Chinese universities and by the enhanced internationalization of mainland higher education.

[Online] Available: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/Number46/p15_Li.htm