Nothing to do with the HK Government I'm afraid. People join CX trying to live the dream and for some it may work initially. As a young, single mid 20's expat sharing a small 700 sq ft flat somewhere with a mate or two and jetting around the world occasionally would be good fun and do-able. Add a wife and 2 kids to that mix and 'do-able' becomes 'impossible' pretty quickly - especially when you throw in schooling. Lending them money by 'forgiveable loan' is a pretty thoughtless carrot which will just tempt people who want a job.
The future CX aircraft will be flown by locals living with their parents, expats commuting from Cambodia and an elite few who get a Base in their home country knowing that it could be closed at any moment because our cheapskate Leaders haven't done their homework and somebody has to pay!
May take a decade or two but those pass pretty fast these days.
