Does anyone know differently as I know of a group that went up in early December for stage 2 interviews and all were sent home after day 1.
I don't know for sure but my guess is that they were all sent home after Day 1 because none of them could get past Stage 2. It happens, and probably on quite a regular basis. International applicants being sent to HKG are actually required to do Stage 2 assessments one day, and provided you are successful you only do Stage 3 the following day. If not, then you pack your bags and leave on the next flight out.
As mentioned by some others, the programme is still quite active. I have a friend who has been scheduled for a Stage 1 interview in late January, so I don't see how they could have frozen the program.