Bing Overseas Program in Hong Kong postponed

The Bing Overseas Studies Program (BOSP) in Hong Kong for Autumn Quarter 2019 has been suspended because of concerns about student safety and security.

This was to be the first quarter of Stanford’s new program in Hong Kong, and BOSP expects the program will move forward in autumn 2020.

BOSP has notified the 25 students who had planned to attend and supported them in making alternative academic plans for the Autumn Quarter, either at Stanford or at an alternative overseas program.

In an announcement, BOSP administrators said the safety and wellbeing of students was the top priority as the university closely monitored the security situation in Hong Kong. A final decision on the program was needed at this time because students were about to begin travel in advance of the program’s start in Hong Kong.

“The ongoing unrest, its effects on local services and transportation infrastructure, potential escalation of violence and uncertainty around potential future disruption in Hong Kong have reached a point where we determined the risks to our students and to the program were too numerous at the present time to proceed,” the announcement said.

In making decisions about program operations, BOSP adheres to Stanford’s International Travel Policy and uses many reliable sources of information, including the U.S. Department of State, intelligence provided through Stanford’s third-party global risk consultant, direct reports from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Stanford’s partner institution in Hong Kong) and benchmarking among other U.S. universities with programs in Hong Kong.

Read more on the BOSP website.