Hong Kong targets ‘top talent' as Harvard faces international student ban
Hong Kong's education bureau has called on the city's universities to 'attract top talent' by opening their doors to those affected by the Trump administration's attempt to ban Harvard from enrolling international students.
Last week the Trump administration revoked Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, effectively banning the university from accepting foreign students. A US federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the government from enforcing the ban, which would have reportedly forced students currently enrolled and not graduating this year to transfer to another institution or lose their legal status and visa.
Harvard has launched legal action, but it has done little to assuage concerns among students thrown into limbo. Experts have warned the US the ban could be a boon for foreign institutions looking to attract talent.
On Monday Hong Kong's education bureau said it had 'promptly called on all universities in Hong Kong to introduce facilitation measures for those eligible with a view to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of students and scholars, and to attract top talent'.
The Hong Kong Science and Technology University announced on Friday an open invitation to any affected foreign students, offering a place to those forced to leave Harvard as well as those with confirmed offers.
'The university will provide unconditional offers, streamlined admission procedures, and academic support to facilitate a seamless transition for interested students,' it said.
Hong Kong is home to five of the world's top 100 universities, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, however in recent years they have been made to integrate national security and patriotic themes into studies, after China's ruling Communist party tightened its grip on the semi-autonomous city.
More than 2,000 students from Asia are currently enrolled at Harvard, with an unknown number accepted and waiting to start.
'A lot of people in east Asia have some sort of fantasy and feel the prestige of Harvard,' said Taiwanese student Chu, who asked that his real name not be published.
Chu was expecting to start a Masters in Science in August, and has already paid about $3,000 in visa and accommodation fees, and deferred his hospital residency for a year
'I either stick with Harvard or I just go back to my residency training,' he said. 'There's no other alternative I have.'
In a lawsuit filed against the Trump administrations attempted ban, Harvard said the move would immediately blunt its competitiveness in attracting the world's top students.
'In our interconnected global economy, a university that cannot welcome students from all corners of the world is at a competitive disadvantage', it said, adding foreign students were 'a key factor' in the college maintaining its standing in academia.
The vast majority of Harvard's foreign students – about 1,200 currently studying – are from China. On China's Xiao Hong Shu app, a Chinese masters student from Sichuan, said she had given talks to campus classmates about unequal access to education in her home country.
'As a fresh graduate studying abroad in the US for the first time, I've overcome a lot to get here,' she said. 'But when the hammer came down today, it was the first time I truly realised just how small I am.'
A spokesperson for China's ministry of foreign affairs, Mao Ning, said on Friday that China 'opposed the politicisation of educational cooperation', and warned the move would 'harm the image and international standing of the United States'.
On the social media platform Weibo, a series of related hashtags, including 'Trump is destroying Harvard', saw more than 200 million interactions, including many viewing it as the latest skirmish between the US and China. Among the reasons cited by the Trump administration for revoking Harvard's program was an accusation that it fostered 'coordinating with the Chinese Communist party on its campus'.
Additional research by Jason Tzu Kuan Lu and Lillian Yang
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Protest held in Dublin over lack of additional needs education provision
Scores of people have taken part in a demonstration in Dublin calling for action over a shortage of education provision for children with additional needs. It comes after a number of children with autism have not yet received an allocated school place. Advertisement The Equality in Education protest assembled at the Garden of Remembrance, with many holding banners calling for equality in education provision. It comes after the group slept outside Leinster House in April to highlight the issue. At the Equality in Education protest today. We need urgent action to ensure there are enough appropriate school places for children who need them. This has gone on for too long! — Denise Mitchell TD (@DMitchellTD) June 7, 2025 A number of representatives from Opposition parties were in attendance. Sinn Féin president Mary-Lou McDonald said the children are being failed. Advertisement 'These are children who have an equal right to a full education as any other child. They have parents who in many cases have written literally dozens of applications to various schools only to be told that their child cannot be accommodated,' she said. 'They have mounted a campaign which has seen them sleep outside the Dail … they're here today to simply say that no child should be left behind. Every single child is entitled, socially, morally and legally to an appropriate school place. 'The Government talk a lot about the needs of people with disabilities, they're talking about prioritising the needs of children, well, we're not seeing that here, what we see here are stressed-out, traumatised and very, very distressed parents, and children who are being failed comprehensively. That needs to change. 'Government is well aware of this issue.' Advertisement
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Katie Miller, Stephen Miller's wife, in a ‘tricky situation' after Musk and Trump's falling out
Katie Miller, the wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, recently departed from the Trump administration to work for Elon Musk, days before the spectacular falling out between President Donald Trump and the billionaire. The 33-year-old Miller was one of Musk's first hires as he established the Department of Government Efficiency and began reducing the federal workforce. She left the administration alongside him last week. Like Musk, she was designated as a 'special government employee' during her time in government, which allowed her to work for Musk and Trump, as well as in the private sector, simultaneously. Miller even helped to set up the departing press conference in the Oval Office featuring Musk and Trump, according to The Wall Street Journal. Musk and Trump's relationship fell apart in public on Thursday, with Musk unfollowing Stephen Miller on X. Friends of Miller told the paper that she was in a difficult position between Trump and Musk. 'Katie Miller was a critical reason DOGE was able to get off the ground and deliver massive cuts to waste, fraud, and abuse for the American people,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the outlet. This isn't the first time that Miller has been caught in the crossfire of a Trump feud. Miller also worked for then-Vice President Mike Pence when Trump began attacking him for not aiding him in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election towards the end of his first term. However, at the time of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, she was on maternity leave. In December last year, Miller became one of the first DOGE staffers announced by the then-president-elect. However, her work at DOGE soon became the catalyst for disagreements with the White House, where top Trump aides argued that she hadn't sufficiently convinced Musk to work alongside the administration. Top administration officials told The Journal that she often spoke on behalf of Musk, issued orders about what agencies should do, and how the government's work should be communicated. Officials were concerned about her continuing work for P2. However, she left the firm after The Journal published an article about her work there. She then also departed the White House to work for Musk, just before the blowup between the billionaire and the president. Miller has been described as having endless energy and as being fiercely protective of her husband. Current and previous co-workers told The Journal that she could go from charming to abrasive. Those who know her told the paper that she has a 'YOLO' tattoo on the inside of her lip. Miller has at times worked for clients while lobbying the government, simultaneously addressing government issues. She quickly rose through the ranks after being hired in 2015 by Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana. Former Daines aide Jason Thielman told The Journal that 'Everything was always at full speed, full throttle.' 'Sometimes, she just exhausted people, and they gave her what she wanted,' he added of her battles with reporters. She joined the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term before working for Pence. It was during her time at DHS that she met Stephen Miller. 'Every Trump White House had its divisions, but she was always willing to go to bat to protect the VP's prerogatives,' Pence's Chief of Staff Marc Short told the paper. Following the insurrection, Stephen Miller kept working for Trump, and she remained in Pence's office. While she was placed on Pence's postpresidential payroll, partly because she needed healthcare, according to Pence's advisors, his office subsequently severed connections with her after Stephen Miller began working with then-President Trump. He continued to target his former vice president. After joining the Republican consulting firm P2 Public Affairs following Trump's 2021 departure from office, she subsequently became the top point of contact between Musk and the 2024 Trump campaign. She often joined Musk at events and then began advising Robert F. Kennedy, who later became Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, now known as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Pence opposed Kennedy's appointment, and in January of this year, Miller took aim at her former boss, saying that he only had 'family values' when it was 'politically expedient' and called him a 'footnote of American history.'
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
China to send vice premier He Lifeng to Britain for US trade talks
SHANGHAI, June 7 (Reuters) - China's foreign ministry said on Saturday that Chinese vice premier He Lifeng will visit the United Kingdom between June 8 and June 13. The first meeting of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism will be held with the United States during this visit, the ministry said. He led the Chinese side in the first round of trade talks in May. President Donald Trump said on Friday that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent Washington in the talks.
