Five Hong Kong Universities Ranked Among Top 100 Globally: Hong Kong's Strategic Advantage in Becoming an 'International Hub for Higher Education'

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

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The move by the Central Government to reprimand the US Consul General in Hong Kong over her interpretation of a recent amendment to National Security Law (NSL) is necessary to correct a misconception that the city is not a safe place to travel.

Last month, Hong Kong’s legislature passed laws empowering the police to demand suspects of a crime to reveal the passwords to their mobile phones and other electronic devices.

But the newly appointed US Consul General Hong Kong Julie Eadeh went a step further and issued a travel advisory warning all Americans that they could be arrested if they failed to release their passwords. She insinuated that Hong Kong is a police state. It is not! In fact, it is one of the safest places in the world to travel.

A government spokesman was quick to respond to erroneous press reports after the legislative motion that under normal circumstances, police officers must have reasonable grounds to suspect that an electronic equipment may contain evidence of an offence endangering national security, and they must apply for a warrant and obtain authorisation from a magistrate before they can search the electronic equipment to obtain relevant criminal evidence in accordance with the warrant. 

Only after being legally authorised to search the equipment can the police require a suspect to provide the password or decryption method of the equipment. Therefore, it is not until legal authorisation to search an electronic equipment has been obtained can the police really require a suspect to provide the password or decryption method of the electronic equipment. 

The spokesman added that there is no case that the police can randomly ask ordinary citizens on the street for their electronic devices (such as their mobile phones) and their password. 

The Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection agency, which placed Hong Kong 10th as one of the world’s safest places to travel last year, advised travellers to read the US State Department’s travel advisories which currently advises travellers to exercise caution in Hong Kong due to the “arbitrary enforcement of local laws and ongoing restrictions on civil liberties” following the enactment of the National Security Law and the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. US citizens are also encouraged to avoid demonstrations, protests and large gathering, as “even peaceful events can escalate and lead to legal consequences.” 

The commissioner of China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong, Cui Jianchun, gave Eadeh a slap over the wrist and expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition, urging the US to immediately cease interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs in any form. 

Of the 70-consular corps in Hong Kong, the US was the only one to purposely misinterpret the amendment to the NSL. It is in the DNA of the US. All other foreign diplomats know exactly what it means because the same proviso applies to their own countries.

Eadeh is a career diplomat having served in Ankara, Doha, Bagdad, Shanghai, Riyadh and Beirut. In Hong Kong she was the consulate’s political director under Gregory May, who has been promoted to US Deputy Chief of Mission in Beijing.

Unlike other consulates in Hong Kong which answer to their embassies in Beijing, the US Consulate General in Hong Kong answers directly to the US State Department run by China hawk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been quiet on China issues recently due to his distraction in the Middle East.

The US is not in a position to criticise Hong Kong at the moment as it has lost all credibility as a sovereign state. It is a broken country, ostracized by the world’s powers as they scramble to mend the fences dismantled by President Trump and his cronies.

Commissioner Cui will be keeping a watchful eye on Eadeh as she steps her way through Hong Kong, its flooring still holding the shards of broken glass from the 2019-20 riots in which she was complicit. Cui will continue to reprimand her for every indiscretion she makes.