I apologise for my "sooks" reference but Night Watch implied that ATC was using the weather as an excuse. It was the crews ahead of you that were saying they couldn't negotiate the weather, not us! What would you like to do with those who wouldn't "have a go"? Say "get out of the way" and let someone with a green tail have a go?? Once aircraft start orbiting/holding/ wandering all over the sky of their own volition within 25 miles of the field theres no option but to hold everyone else out.
As an aside, when your company plans an alternate in inclement weather, do they consider 80 or 90 other airlines at HK (yes there are more than 100 regular carriers now) are carrying the same alternate, and that if you are tail-end Charlie, there may not be room for you? Even on the taxiways? I'm surprised how often crews are presumpuous that they will just go to Macau or Shenzhen when they get down to minimums. Of course the information should be made more readily available but often the situation is so dynamic that noone can keep up with the acceptance rate at other airports.
Unfortunately, as others have pointed out, the situation on Sunday was largely exacerbated by extremely poor supervision on that watch and very junior staff in the approach area (Management keeps arguing they have the numbers- its a numbers game you know - this is the Civil Service-very low experience levels though - not dissimilar to your iCadets).
Expect things to get worse. CAD is focused so heavily on going to their new Centre in a couple of years that operational staff numbers have been decimated. They are hellbent on the fact that the new radar system is the solution to all their problems when its actually all about the people.
All I can say is keep one eye on the TCAS.
