Opinion

No place for ethnic profiling of academics, whether in Hong Kong or US universities

Talk of a ‘mainlandisation’ of academics in Hong Kong is baseless and only hurts the intellectual vitality and dedication of the research enterprise

Recent developments in the US should serve as a warning: government overreach can damage academic careers and the functioning of universities

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Dr Gerard A. Postiglione is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Hong Kong and coordinator of the Consortium for Research on Higher Education in Asia.

Published: 3:30am, 28 Jul 2023Updated: 4:14am, 28 Jul 2023

The so-called mainlandisation of Hong Kong’s universities has become a topic of interest in international academic media. Recently, University World News, in noting that mainland academics in Hong Kong universities outnumbered local faculty this year for the first time, said it raised “fears” over “the international character of universities in Hong Kong, and their culture of open research”.

It would be ironic if mainland Chinese scholars and scientists fleeing ethnic profiling in the US arrive here only to find themselves being profiled again in Hong Kong.

While the number of academic staff in the city born on the mainland has increased over the past five years, it has not affected the international rankings of Hong Kong’s universities. If anything, the rankings have improved, from just three local universities among the world’s top 100 in 2018, according to Times Higher Education, to five this year.