The context and development of language policy and knowledge production in universities in Hong Kong

Abstract

In this paper the colonial history of university education in Hong Kong, and the recent changes in the governance of universities driven by global management discourses and practices are documented and critically examined. With the systemic penetration of global economic rationalism, Hong Kong universities have been under forces for structural changes including “internationalization” and “Englishization” of university MOI and university research and publication cultures. The long-term consequences of these global processes will be discussed in terms of potential risks of the narrowing of the intellectual space and the colonization of knowledge production, resulting in the subordination of local societal needs, indigenous knowledges and epistemologies. A balanced approach to designing policies regarding university MOI and research output assessment criteria, as well as what intellectuals and scholars might do to maintain their intellectual space will be proposed.