Dai Qingcheng: The ＂mainlandization＂ of the principal of the college in Hong Kong beco

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Hong Kong and Macao Sudden Search

After the Hong Kong National Security Law landed the previous year, the Hong Kong Government has actively carried out a strong "original clear source" in the field of education in the past few years.Taking the eight governments in Hong Kong as an example, except for all students from September this year, they must complete the designated national security curriculum to graduate, and the university's "leader" is also gradually changing.

Lingnan University, known as Boya Education in the higher education community, announced on October 10 that Qin Sizhao, Dean of the School of Data Sciences of the City University of Hong Kong, will take over Zheng Guohan who retired next year and serve as President Lingda.Qin Sizhao, 59, was from Shandong. After graduating from Tsinghua University in Beijing in his early years, he went to university in the United States and Hong Kong to teach. He was a typical "returnee" scholar.

In the past, the president of Hong Kong's university was mostly as local or foreign scholars.However, among the eight universities, Zhang Xiang, president of the University of Hong Kong and the president of the University of Science and Technology, have the background of the mainland. The former came from Wenzhou, Zhejiang, and the latter was born in Nanjing.

The phenomenon of "returnee" as the "leader" of Hong Kong universities has also been extended to other private universities recently.Just in the past Saturday (October 29), another "returnee" scholar Chen Zhi officially became the 11th president of the Hong Kong Private University -Zhuhai College.

According to the Basic Law, colleges and universities in Hong Kong can retain autonomy and enjoy academic freedom. The positions of the principals of the universities received by the universities have always been recruited by the colleges.

Each university has previously hired senior scholars who have a high status in the international academic community as the principal to increase the university's reputation.However, in recent years, Hong Kong's society has become increasingly political, and universities have inevitably be involved in the vortex of public opinion. This kind of academic status model that only focuses on the principal has become increasingly outdated and disadvantages.

During the anti -repair campaign in 2019, a group of colleges and universities who lacked political sensitivity were helpless between the government and the students of the government and the social movement.Whether they publicly condemn the demonstrators, or low -key processing, or even sympathy students, they have caused criticism from different camps.

After the Hong Kong National Security Law came into effect in July 2020, Beijing established the principle of "Patriotic Governing Hong Kong", Shi Wei, president of the University of Science and Technology, President of the University of Science and Technology, Guo Zhi, President of the City University, and Qian Dakang, President of the Baptist University, retired.EssenceThe principal who is still in office and once expressed sympathetic students will continue to be attacked; if the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which is known as the "Storm" (Riot University) in the storm, a group of people have vowed in recent years.The principal Duan Chongzhi stepped down to be responsible for the "indulgence of thugs" in 2019.

In all fairness, Duan Chongzhi's performance in the anti -repair routine has indeed owed ideals. Especially, he once believed that students and issued a statement of condemning the police have become a big stain in life.However, Duan Chongzhi has "felt today and yesterday" in recent years, and even became a member of the Chief Executive's team of Li Jiachao.Some sectors still bite him without letting him go, which seems to reflect that the official "chaos" in the university field has not stopped.

In this case, the president of the university that was born and never good at politics will only be more effective in the future; the president of the university from foreign or Taiwan will be more and more stressful due to the background sensitive.

On the other hand, the "returnees" scholars have no burden on nationality or identity, and they have been trusted by the mainland government. The opportunity to serve as the principal of Hong Kong universities will naturally be seen.This new phenomenon causes social concerns, and is worried that the universities in Hong Kong will gradually be taken over by people with the "red background".

The concerns of Hong Kong society are normal, but it is not necessarily 100 % accurate.After all, Hong Kong has long been an international metropolis for Chinese and foreign cultural exchanges. The teachers and students of universities come from all over the world and different nationalities. It is like a small "United Nations". It is not surprising that people who have been suppressed by foreign citizens or backgrounds in the mainland.If the principal is the background of the mainland, it is questioned that the university has been "dyed red" and has a spirit of diversification of the university.

In fact, since the reform and opening up in the late 1970s, China ’s higher education has developed very quickly in the past three or forty years, and has achieved great achievements. In recent years, many mainland scholars have been in the list of different global scholars' academic influence rankings.The list is famous.More and more mainland scholars have served as the president of Hong Kong's university, but only confirmed that the influence of mainland scholars' influence in the international education community has continued to rise.Hong Kong people must look at this new change with their usual eyes.

Objectively speaking, most mainland scholars are in charge of the work performance of the principals of Hong Kong colleges and universities.Taking the University of Hong Kong as an example, the school has endless storms in the past few years and has a great vitality.For the first time, Zhang Xiang became the new helm of the University of Hong Kong as a mainland, and soon stabilized the situation, and was recognized by most Hong Kong masters and students.

Of course, "returnee" scholars are not without weaknesses.Generally speaking, they do not understand Cantonese as the previous foreign principals, and it is difficult to communicate directly with teachers and students.In recent years, all universities in Hong Kong have faced the problem of insufficient resources. If the social ability of the university's "one brother" is average, it may weaken the university's performance in social fundraising.This is also a fact that I have to admit.