Source: People’s Daily 2012-05-09 Page 12
Writer: Li Yongning

How to translate Jiang Hu and Shui Hu Zhuan into English? How to understand that the recession of a great nation means that of prosperity? These questions which seem odd but profound were designed for Hong Kong senior high school students who wanted to attend mainland universities. This year, it’s the first time for the mainland universities to recruit Hong Kong students with open enrollment. 63 universities attracted more than 4000 Hong Kong students. So far, more than one thousand short-listed Hong Kong candidates took the interview in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, etc.

Wu Hongsheng, a Form Six student from Hong Kong (equivalent to senior high school student in the Mainland), participated in the open enrollment launched by SYSU in Guangdong. He laughingly called himself as one of the challengers facing these sharp questions. When interviewed, the interviewee asked him that neither Steven Jobs nor Bill Gates had finished their college, why he himself still wanted to go to college. Wu Hongsheng said that he was a bit surprised when hearing the question. He never expected that the interview questions of mainland universities could be so sharp and socially meaningful.

Wu Hongsheng also revealed that his classmates gave positive evaluation to the interview. These sharp questions made more classmates to long for the mainland universities instead. They thought that those profound questions by mainland universities mirrored a great educational level.

The director of Peking University Admission Office Qin Chunhua, who participated in the first open enrollment plan for Hong Kong freshmen, thought highly of the general performance of Hong Kong candidates. Qin pointed out that they won the favor of interviewers for their creative thoughts and fluent expression.

Many mainland universities commented that Hong Kong students dared to cope with challenging difficulties. Director Wu Xiaofeng of SYSU Admission Office said that Hong Kong students were sensitive to social issues, enjoyed expressing their own ideas, had some knowledge of the mainland situation, and they had great potential.