I think the OP is referring specifically to F check in at HKG, where the luggage valet springs out of nowhere and whisks off your luggage before you even know what happened. I hadn't thought about that, but it's a good point - a nice unpublished benefit, though luggage >32kg is pretty noticeable.

In general I've found CX staff at outstations to be more generous with weight limits, at least for OW Emerald. Since OW doesn't have reciprocal baggage allowances, it's hit or miss which will charge for excess and which won't. CX seems to look the other way more often than most. In cases where I've connected to another flight that would have charged if I checked in with them, I've never been hit up for extra money.