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Wenweipo conducted a questionnaire survey in Hong Kong from August to October this year on more than 200 local and Mainland students studying in the eight tertiary institutions and the Chu Hai College to find out how the two groups of students got along with and felt about each other. The students were also asked to give a rating on their overall degree of friendliness. A total of 118 valid questionnaires were received from local students and 78 from Mainland students. The results reveal that about 67% of all the respondents found it hard to make friends with the other group; the percentages being 60% and 77% respectively among the local and Mainland students. Some respondents cited language barrier, cultural gap, background differences and personality clash as hindrances to making friends.
Sixty-eight percent of the local students felt that an increasing number of students from the Mainland posed a threat to their learning, lifestyle and job opportunity. On the whole, both groups felt that they were getting along quite well. With 10 being the highest score, the local students gave a score of 6.7 and the Mainland students gave a score of 7.3 on the level of friendliness.
The survey also asked the students how they felt about the other group. The findings have showed mixed feelings. Some local students described those from the Mainland as clever, enthusiastic during class, but “very boring” after class and unfashionable in dressing style. Students from the Mainland described local students as having strong team spirits and expressive but sometimes lazy and superficial.
In fact, the tertiary institutions in Hong Kong have put in place a variety of services and support to help students from the Mainland adapt to new college life in Hong Kong. The University of Science and Technology launched a “Mainland Student Support Programme” in August this year to strengthen the connection between senior local undergraduates and Mainland freshmen in the same department. It aims to help students from Mainland fit in college life in Hong Kong as soon as possible. The Baptist University also offers to the Mainland students preparatory courses including English, Mathematics, Computer Science, Cantonese and Understanding Hong Kong. The university has already put aside human resources to handle Mainland students’ affairs and help them expand their social circles. ■Translated by 開明
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