At a forum attended by University Presidents, the Secretary for Education, Dr Christine Choi, emphasized the highly internationalized and diverse nature of Hong Kong’s higher education sector. Among the eight publicly funded universities, five are ranked in the top 100 globally, positioning Hong Kong as one of the world’s cities with the highest concentration of elite universities. Many of these institutions, programs, and disciplines are recognized as world-class, garnering widespread acclaim domestically and internationally. These achievements significantly enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness and influence in higher education.
The rankings referenced by Dr. Choi pertain to the newly released 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. In this edition, five Hong Kong universities are within the global top 100: The University of Hong Kong (HKU) ranks 35th, while The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has risen nine places to 44th—its best-ever ranking and a return to the top 50 since 2022. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) saw a slight decline to 66th. City University of Hong Kong (CityU) climbed to 80th, its highest ranking to date, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) moved up three places to 84th.
Additionally, over 1,000 scholars from Hong Kong universities were listed among the "Top 2% of the World's Top Scientists," according to the 2024 Standardized Citation Indicators Database compiled by Stanford University. This marks an increase of 80 scholars from the previous year, with a total of 1,534 Hong Kong scholars recognized for their annual scientific impact. Thirteen of these scholars are ranked in the global top 10 within their fields, including Professor Jim Chi Yung from the Education University of Hong Kong, known as "Dr. Tree," who retained his top ranking. Dr. Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, the "father of non-invasive prenatal test" and the upcoming President of CUHK, ranks fourth globally in general clinical medicine. In terms of lifetime scientific impact, 1,270 Hong Kong scientists are among the world’s top 2%, an increase of 95 from the previous year.
Moreover, according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), four subjects at Hong Kong universities are ranked among the global top ten: HKU’s Dentistry ranks 3rd, HKU’s Education is 7th, CUHK’s Nursing is 8th, and HKUST’s Data Science and Artificial Intelligence ranks 10th globally.
PolyU and HKU also have multiple disciplines ranked within the global top 20, such as PolyU’s Civil and Structural Engineering at 14th, and HKU’s Education and Law programs, each ranking 20th.
Dr. Choi highlighted that the next decade offers a golden opportunity for the development of higher education in Hong Kong, and the government will vigorously promote the "Study in Hong Kong" initiative.
Ariel recalled that last year’s Policy Address proposed an additional injection of HKD 1 billion into the Government Scholarship Fund and an increase in Belt and Road Scholarship placements to 150 annually, aiming to attract more students from Belt and Road Initiative countries and ASEAN nations to pursue their studies in Hong Kong.
According to the Education Bureau’s statistics, only 32% of non-local students in the eight major publicly funded undergraduate and postgraduate programs last academic year were from regions outside Hong Kong. To enhance the city's appeal, the government can expand its scholarship offerings.
Hong Kong clearly possesses a strategic advantage in becoming an "international hub for post-secondary education." Beyond increasing scholarship opportunities and attracting distinguished international scholars, the government also seeks to draw students from Europe, the Americas, and Australia. By expanding the "Study in Hong Kong" brand, the government aims to attract international students to study and ideally remain in Hong Kong after graduation, thereby diversifying the local talent pool and contributing to Hong Kong’s long-term economic growth.
Ariel
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
Trump's Venezuela play just gave Western progressives a masterclass in American hypocrisy.
Steve Bannon, Trump's longtime strategist, told The New York Times the Venezuela assault—arresting President Nicolás Maduro and all—stands as this administration's most consequential foreign policy move. Meticulously planned, Bannon concedes, but woefully short on ideological groundwork. "The lack of framing of the message on a potential occupation has the base bewildered, if not angry".
Trump's rationale for nabbing Maduro across international borders was drug trafficking. But here's the tell: once Maduro was in custody, Trump stopped talking about Venezuelan cocaine and started obsessing over Venezuelan oil. He's demanding US oil companies march back into Venezuela to seize control of local assets. And that's not all—he wants Venezuela to cough up 50 million barrels of oil.
Trump's Colonial Playbook
On January 6, Trump unveiled his blueprint: Venezuela releases 50 million barrels to the United States. America sells it. Market watchers peg the haul at roughly $2.8 billion.
Trump then gleefully mapped out how the proceeds would flow—only to "American-made products." He posted on social media: "These purchases will include, among other things, American Agricultural Products, and American Made Medicines, Medical Devices, and Equipment to improve Venezuela's Electric Grid and Energy Facilities. In other words, Venezuela is committing to doing business with the United States of America as their principal partner."
Trump's demand for 50 million barrels up front—not a massive volume, granted—betrays a blunt short-term goal. It's the classic imperial playbook: invade a colony, plunder its resources, sail home and parade the spoils before your supporters to justify the whole bloody enterprise. Trump isn't chasing the ideological legitimacy Bannon mentioned. He's after something more primal: material legitimacy. Show me a colonial power that didn't loot minerals or enslave labor from its colonies.
America's Western allies were silent as the grave when faced with such dictatorial swagger. But pivot the camera to Hong Kong, and suddenly they're all righteous indignation.
The British Double Standard
Recently, former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith penned an op-ed in The Times, slamming the British government for doing "nothing but issuing 'strongly worded' statements in the face of Beijing's trampling of the Sino-British Joint Declaration." He's calling on the Labour government to sanction the three designated National Security Law judges who convicted Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai of "collusion with foreign forces"—to prove that "Hong Kong's judiciary has become a farce." Duncan Smith even vowed to raise the matter for debate in the British Parliament.
The Conservatives sound principled enough. But think it through, and it's laughable. The whole world's talking about Maduro right now—nobody's talking about Jimmy Lai anymore.
Maduro appeared in US Federal Court in New York on January 6. The United States has trampled international law and the UN Charter—that's what Duncan Smith would call "American justice becoming a farce." If Duncan Smith's so formidable, why doesn't he demand the British government sanction Trump? Why not sanction the New York Federal Court judges? If he wants to launch a parliamentary debate, why not urgently debate America's crimes in invading Venezuela? Duncan Smith's double standards are chilling.
Silence on Venezuela
After the Venezuela incident, I searched extensively online—even deployed AI—but couldn't find a single comment from former Conservative leader Duncan Smith on America's invasion of Venezuela. Duncan Smith has retreated into his shell.
Duncan Smith is fiercely pro-US. When Trump visited the UK last September amid considerable domestic criticism, the opposition Conservatives didn't just stay quiet—Duncan Smith actively defended him, calling Trump's unprecedented second UK visit critically important: "if the countries that believe in freedom, democracy and the rule of law don’t unite, the totalitarian states… will dominate the world and it will be a terrible world to live in."
The irony cuts deep now. America forcibly seizes another country's oil and minerals—Trump is fundamentally an imperialist dictator. With Duncan Smith's enthusiastic backing, this totalitarian Trump has truly won.
Incidentally, the Conservative Party has completely destroyed itself. The party commanding the highest support in Britain today is the far-right Reform Party. As early as last May, YouGov polling showed Reform Party capturing the highest support at 29%, the governing Labour Party languishing at just 22%, the Liberal Democrats ranking third at 17%, and the Conservatives degraded to fourth place with 16% support.
The gutless Conservative Party members fear offending Trump, while voters flock to the Reform Party instead. The Conservatives' posturing shows they've become petty villains for nothing.
Lo Wing-hung
