Hong Kong drifters () are young, educated people who left mainland China to move to Hong Kong in search of a job and a place to live. They may experience difficulty assimilating into the culture of Hong Kong, which can vary from that of mainland China. The term Hong Kong drifter was first used in China by people in Internet chat rooms. The state may be a temporary one, depending upon a person's ability to adjust to the cultural and language differences.
Background
With the aim of attracting talented people from mainland China and the rest of the world to settle and work in Hong Kong, the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) set up admissions criteria under which applicants could be admitted to residence in Hong Kong without the prior offer of local employment required for a normal working visa.
Universities in Hong Kong began to enroll students from mainland secondary schools since 1998, aiming to absorb talent from the mainland. However, it had not aroused much attention from the society until the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recruited three top scorers of the College Entrance Examination in 2005. Since then, a “battle” between the Universities in Hong Kong and the top universities in mainland including Peking University and Tsinghua University has become increasingly fierce. In order to win over the mainland students, Hong Kong universities provide substantial scholarships which could reach $640,000 HK each student.
On the other hand, there are a variety of reasons that mainland students and their parents choose HK universities. One of the most crucial reasons is that Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan city which provides students with international stage and views. Moreover, the tuition fees of universities in Hong Kong is more acceptable compared to that of universities in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and other western countries. Additionally the high scholarships are appealing to the mainland students. Another essential reason that cannot be ignored is that with considerable numbers of preeminent teachers from all around the world, the quality of education is remarkable and the teaching principle is more close to the western countries. In addition, the English teaching environment and the plenty of exchange programs prepare those students who want to take a postgraduate diploma abroad with beneficial experiences, which enable them to adjust to their study more smoothly.
Immigrant incentive programs
University students
Not only the economic prosperity that attracts the mainlanders to move southern, the international higher education system in Hong Kong also attracts them. Universities in Hong Kong act as a major bridge between Hong Kong and the mainland. In 1998, the Hong Kong Jockey Club funded dozens of graduating mainland students study in Hong Kong. In 2003, the Chinese Ministry of Education first allowed Hong Kong universities to recruit mainland students. In 2012, of the 10,770 non-local students at the city's eight government-funded universities, more than 80% of them were from the mainland.
Scholarship is one of the ways to attract talented students from China to study in Hong Kong. Universities in Hong Kong offer considerable scholarships and rewards to the outstanding students from the mainland, the funding goes up to $9 million per year. Elites who are qualified to receive the academic scholarships from the school can take up to $0.64 million in four years. This has become one of the major reasons why mainland students, especially the middle class, would like to study here in Hong Kong.
In 2001, 4 years after the handover of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong SAR Government allows mainland fresh graduates to stay and work in the HKSAR. Therefore, studying in Hong Kong is all the rage in recent 10 year. Recently, after the result of college entrance examinations has been released, there has been a keen competition of top scorer between Hong Kong and Mainland's University. This phenomenon is constantly covered by both China and Hong Kong media in the news report.