Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong: Coping with the Socio-Political Challenges of 2017 to 2020

Abstract

Over the past two decades Hong Kong's higher education institutions have become favored destinations for students from Mainland China. They find Hong Kong society both familiar and strange. Though Chinese, its political history differs markedly from their homeland's. Since 2010, moreover, conflicts have arisen in Hong Kong between local and Mainland Chinese people, culminating between 2017 and 2020 with clashes over issues of autonomy and governance. This study investigates Mainland Chinese students’ experiences in Hong Kong during the 2017–2020 period, and the strategies they developed to cope with the pressures they faced. We found that coping strategies included: active approaches such as learning Cantonese and joining local student societies or campus activities; limiting their friendships to students from similar backgrounds; endurance and acceptance; and ‘letting nature take its course’. The study also shows weaknesses in university assistance for Mainland students, and has broader implications for student support and identity formation.