Sovereignty retrocession, economic globalization, and cultural affinity have brought Hong Kong and China’s inland much closer together since 1997. This paper focuses on how this has affected higher education by raising two questions: To what extent have these two university systems converged? What has globalization and national reunion done to the academic values, and traditions that underlie each system’s academy? The questions are addressed through the themes of expansion, marketization, and internationalization in higher education. While a virtual incorporation of Hong Kong’s higher education system into the national system has taken place, the Hong Kong system has maintained a unique international identity. Moreover, the medium of instruction, composition of the professoriate, and legal provisions on institutional autonomy in the Hong Kong system remain significant differences.
