Does it matter whether you're based in HK or elsewhere? I'm HK-based and was about 700 miles short of upgrading to GO, with travel booked to push me over the threshold. Still had to fly the segment. Maybe they feel more pressure to be nice to people outside CX's home market?

Last year, though, they cut me some slack with renewal -- reset my miles about a month early, after I had enough to renew SL. That let me count a trip I had booked for later in that month toward the next year instead of losing the miles if they had reset me at the normal time.