AOA has no power to bargain anything with 800 cadets in the pipeline and enough direct entry captains from SEA and the subcontinent willing to fill a job. If any of these potentials are willing to accept the abhorrent conditions in other countries getting paid POS18 will be a step up.
In the end CX doesn't need the gweilo anymore. You never know, maybe the barriers to the north get brought down because HK after all is now just another Chinese city...