"I am considering a university foundation course on the mainland because I want to understand the mainland market earlier and better," Hong Kong Form 5 graduate Jenny Huang told Xinhua at the Hong Kong office of Huaqiao University Wednesday.

For the Form 5 graduates in Hong Kong, Wednesday is a big day as results of the Hong Kong Certificate Education of Examination (HKCEE) were released. Such graduates must decide on what they want to do next.

The Hong Kong offices of both Huaqiao University and Jinan University were choc-a-bloc busy Wednesday morning, as the students visited them to enthusiastically seek information on their academic paths on the Chinese mainland.

Tu Wei, vice-director of the Hong Kong Office of the Board of Directors for Huaqiao University, told Xinhua that the office had received more than 40 students in one morning alone, and even after lunch-time, students and parents have continued to trickle in to enquire about applying for the university's on-campus foundation courses that lead to formal university education. And even at the time Tu was speaking, phone calls were pouring into the office's enquiry hot-line non-stop.

"Hong Kong students going to study at Huaqiao became a popular trend since last year. Last year, we recorded admission number 2.5times higher than the year before. The enrollment figure alone amounted to 2,000.

"We believe the trend will continue. After China's entry into the World Trade Organization, funds have been flowing into the mainland.... So many parents and students have put their hope of their children's future on the mainland," he said.

Student Jenny Huang said with relatives residing in Quanzhou in Fujian Province, she said the location of the university is perfect for her.

"What has sparked my interest in studying on the mainland is the great changes I encountered during my recent visit to Quanzhou recently. It'd been only two years since I went back, but great changes had already taken place, like urban development in suburban areas. I was kind of surprised by the speedy development," she said.

Both Huaqiao and Jinan universities come under the administration of the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs and are governed by the Ministry of Education under the State Council of the Central Government. Their externally oriented student admission policies welcome student enrollments from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan province, as well as overseas Chinese.

Leung Chi Wai, father of a student Leung Ming Hei, said his son plans to choose Business Administration as a university course, so sending his son to mainland university for a foundation course will help his son gain a better grasp of various aspects of life on the mainland. And Leung Ming Hei said that since he has not been taught China's official language of Putonghua in Hong Kong, he expects to pick up the language in the course of his studies on the mainland.

Director of the Hong Kong Office of Jinan University Wu Zhangyun told Xinhua that last year more than 800 students were admitted into the university's foundation course. This year, again the university has not set any limit on the number of Hong Kong students to be admitted.

About 80 to 85 percent of Hong Kong students who were enrolled in the foundation course at Jinan will be admitted to the university's degree program in September this year, Wu said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2003)