More thoughts for cadet applicants
1) Currency - the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar which is at record lows and sinking relative to most currencies. This trend does not look likely to reverse anytime soon, so your buying power will be diminished at home as well as in Hong Kong where a disproportionate amount of your income will be spent on housing.
2) Industrial Relations - The new bar will be set at a very low level by cadets. Think about it... How can the rest of the pilots make a good case for inflation-based pay adjustments when cadets are living on a fraction of these amounts in the ghettos of Hong Kong? The company will simply do what they have done before which is freeze higher scales until the lower scale catches up. But do not get excited about that happening any time soon. B-scale was introduced in 1994 and still has not caught up to the A-scale which is all but dead 16 years later.
3) Flying and Respect - Cadet-entry SOs will not touch the aircraft controls below cruise level for 3-4 years. I would miss being an actual pilot who takes-off and lands airplanes. Your skills will be regarded by your colleagues as little more than that of a seat-warmer. For those of you already possessing respectable flying experience, this will be pretty demoralizing. Think about it... CX takes cadets with zero flight time and a little over a year later they are SOs. This may be a good deal for those with no experience, but for those with experience it is just a waste. Wait for a better deal in the right seat somewhere...