Chief Executive John Lee on Saturday said increasing the proportion of non-local students at public universities will broaden the horizons of local students and enhance Hong Kong's international profile.

He was speaking days after lifting the cap on self-financing non-local students at publicly funded universities to 50 per cent of local student places as part of his latest Policy Address. The cap was previously 40 percent.

Speaking on an RTHK programme, Lee said he believes local universities will uphold their admission standards and that the move can attract more high-quality international students to Hong Kong.

“I believe that if the 15,000 quota for our local students remains unchanged and we have more foreign students to interact with them to broaden their vision... their development will be better,” he said.

“Moreover, we should let the world know about the good things here, so we can advance Hong Kong’s education and become an education hub.”

Lee also said he had consulted university presidents, who told him their campuses could accommodate more students.

Lee also announced in his Policy Address that the three-tier school-based emergency mechanism would be extended to students in Primary Four to Primary Six to strengthen mental health support.

Lee said he is concerned about the suicide rate among students and that the goal is to strive for zero suicides.

He said he believed the mechanism could identify students at risk early on and provide them with appropriate help.

Lee also told a Commercial Radio programme that the SAR’s talent initiatives were yielding results. He said Hong Kong’s competitiveness had risen to third globally, and that the city has climbed to fourth place in a global talent ranking.

Lee said he believes that the SAR’s capabilities in scientific research, innovation and technology will continue to rise.