You see now that’s the problem. You think Swire fights? just yesterday the LON base was shut and the dissolvement of CxUk has started, there’s no fight here. Swire does not have that power anymore. It wasn’t SWIRE that threw 40B on the table it was a new hkg government and what they and Beijing say happens. If pilots of other nationality weren’t an issue, well then they would be handing over visas like it’s xmas.
Btw I never meant experienced mainlanders, I’m talking about cadets. And yes of course the strategy does not revolve around pilots only but they are part of that conversation, look at the efforts to dissolve bases while hiring locals it says a lot.
My point is more that as a Cx pilot you have to know the direction this place is going and it absolutely isn’t a expat route(e.g. Singapore Airlines).