67% HongKong University Subjects Plunge in Global Rankings; Foreign Schools Put Off Cooperation Amid National Security Law

The picture shows Luk Yew Hall at the University of Hong Kong on Feb. 18, 2023. (Bill Cox /The Epoch Times)

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), an internationally renowned higher education information agency, published its 2023 World University Discipline Rankings annual report. The global rankings consist of 15,700 subjects at 1,594 universities and educational agencies worldwide.

Over 60 percent of the overall subjects of Hong Kong universities have fallen in the latest rankings. QS announces that Hong Kong has the worst decline, with 178 subjects among nine institutions and a deduction of 20 subjects compared to 2022.

QS points out that Hong Kong has the most significant drop among regions that offer five subjects or more worldwide.

Its report concludes the rankings of 15,700 subjects offered globally at 1,594 universities.

QS is a global student recruitment organization for the education sector, partnering with thousands of higher education institutions, universities, and businesses worldwide for their goals.

QS calls the rabbit hole Hong Kong dug for itself a “struggle.” The educational agency warns Hong Kong to prioritize its international corporation.

Wong Wai-Kwok, a Hong Kong scholar of politics and current affairs, believes the quick plummet in the ranking is due to the pandemic and Hong Kong’s political situation under the National Security Law.

Wong also believes foreign educational institutions find Hong Kong less enticing when considering collaboration due to the political crisis.

Hong Kong Is No Longer the Top

Compared to 2022, 14 subject rankings of Hong Kong colleges and universities rose, while 120 plunged and 41 remained unchanged.

Of the 27 academic fields, only three ranked higher, while the rest tumbled.

The massive decline of 60 percent of Hong Kong colleges and universities results from poor research performance.

Over 60 percent of the academic subject ranking fell because of research performance.

Dentistry at the University of Hong Kong is the highest-ranking domain in all Hong Kong subjects. Despite that, its ranking dropped, and it sat in third place instead of number two in the world in 2022.

The trend of dipped rankings is also seen in social policy and administration for the University of Hong Kong, dropping two spots to the 10th since 2022.

QS explains the declines are mainly due to the poorer performance in the reputation and research citation indexes among employers.

On March 23, Wong Wai-kwok, an independent scholar of cultural research and political science in Hong Kong, shared his analysis with The Epoch Times. “The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the research activities and data collection of colleges and universities. Colleges and universities research for lab experiments.”

Over 60 percent of the academic subject ranking fell because of poorer research performance.

The lift on pandemic restrictions in Hong Kong came slower than the other countries. It might have delayed research progress and the publishing schedule, resulting in lower scores.

Its “International Research Network” score is also lower than the global average. The rankings are judged based on five indicators, including academic reputation, which comes from 75,000 survey responses from graduate employers worldwide, research citations of papers, the number and influence of research published by scholars, and the international research network.

The ranking results of 2023 include 15,700 subjects offered by 1,594 universities around the world.

The score in the “technician and international experiment network” section among other academies is 42.9, below the global average of 49.9.

All Eggs In One Chinese Basket

Senior Vice President of Quacquarelli Symonds, Ben Sowter, said Hong Kong’s latest ranking showed an intensifying global competition. Hence, Hong Kong educational organizations should prioritize high-impact research production.

Sowler continued that it would be vital for Hong Kong institutions to remain outward-looking in their research agenda and prioritize international collaboration.

Regarding colleges and universities in Hong Kong, Sowter said they gambled their entire focus on mainland China. Varsities such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Science and Technology branched out their businesses and campuses in China.

On the contrary, the city’s colleges did not seem too bothered with establishing joint partnerships with foreign universities.

Hong Kong Working with the CCP Is A Turn Off

“To a certain extent, collaborating with mainland Chinese universities is why Hong Kong scores terribly in establishing cooperative partnerships with foreign institutes.” Wong said whether overseas universities would continue to consider Hong Kong enticing and as a potential partner would be a critical issue.

“QS mentioned Hong Kong should prioritize and aim its focus at collaborating with colleges in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe.” Wong recalled.

The former politics professor suspected that overseas institutions were probably taken back because of the political situation in Hong Kong, or were concerned about high tech joint projects being taken advantage of by the Chinese government.

“Or, the foreign institutions or their governments want no collaboration with the Chinese and Hong Kong institutions at all. They might question if the changes in the political environment would also influence the reality of working with international institutions.

Something Money Cannot Buy

In addition, Sowter cited that the 63.2 billion HKD allocated to local universities for 2022 to 2025 by the Hong Kong government might have prevented this year’s subject ranking decline to a certain extent.

Professor Wong believed the funding was only one of the many factors to strengthen Hong Kong’s competitiveness.

“The critical thing is: in the past, Hong Kong or its scholars studying abroad never had an issue establishing collective rapport with foreign institutions as an international city.”

However, the professor said that since implementing the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020, foreign countries led by the United States might have started to target Hong Kong while containing the Chinese Communist Party.

Wong concluded his analysis, “At this point, even if there is plenty of money, it may not be enough to address or resolve the issues — when it comes to partnering with foreign institutions, because of the unstable factors in the political situation in Hong Kong.”

Cap: Based on the annual report of the “2023 World University Discipline Rankings,” published by Quacquarelli Symonds, an international higher education information agency, over 60 percent of the overall subject ranking of Hong Kong institutions has plunged. QS describes the result as “struggle.”