Opinion | How a ‘Harvard International’ could boost Hong Kong as an education hub

John Lee’s invitation to Harvard’s students is a great start but let’s also open our doors to the university itself

Reading Time:3 minutes

Students take part in a commencement ceremony at Harvard University on May 25. Photo: The Boston Globe / Getty Images

Published: 5:30pm, 15 Jun 2025

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has invited international students worried about finishing their courses at Harvard University in the US to continue their studies at one of Hong Kong’s universities. Other universities in Malaysia and Japan have put forward similar suggestions.

This comes as Hong Kong is considering how to make best use of the part of the Northern Metropolis reserved for universities to bolster its role as an education hub. That site is at the heart of our future technology research and development area, and within shouting distance of Shenzhen, China’s engineering and manufacturing powerhouse.

Lee’s invitation is a bold step in the right direction, but I suggest we take the opportunity to go even further and advance the city’s higher education profile.

Hong Kong should reach out to Harvard and offer to make a site available for an additional campus in the city. The new facility could be called Harvard International and admit all the university’s international students and a significant number of American students at any one time, perhaps on a revolving basis.

The trigger for these suggestions is the Trump administration’s extraordinary attack on the American institution, widely regarded as one of the best in the world. The university has had its research grants cancelled and was told its tax status would be reconsidered while its ability to admit international students remains uncertain.

We don’t need to consider the merits of these assaults, and we should note that many are still subject to legal challenges in the US. But the uncertainty they have created gives Hong Kong an opening.