I had not just read HTBJ, but other tech pubs as well. Studied all of it intently to have a shot. One of the first questions was what did you study. What books exactly. From that point on the technical questions went in a completely different direction. Almost every question I answered was contested, even the ones that I nailed. Some questions completely irrelevant to the interview process, many meant to be argumentative.
Contrast that with friends that I have with a European background that actually got assistance in answering some of the questions. A slap on the back at the end of the interview asking 'where have you been for so long?'
I never said anything negative about Hong Kong or Asia and was completely open to relocating. But none of that seemed to matter. It was almost pre-conceived. I wasn't asking for a hand out, just an honest, fair shot to work at a great company.
RF