To the OP:

Mate you are doing some major extrapolations simply based on the silly Avios availability! No, CX is not turning over TPE to KA. I don't see anything odd. Nothing is different here than normal!

Do some searching around. There are plenty of unhappy partner award bookers, unfortunately. Long story short CX only guarantees short haul F to/from HND on CX548/549. Everything else you're rolling the dice especially that far out. BKK, MNL, TPE, SGN, CGK and PEK (on CX, not KA) all fall into this category. I most certainly would not recommend burning your Avios on a much-desired short haul F route, because your downside (getting psyched up for F, and having an equipment swap....or even more likely, MULTIPLE schedule swaps prior to departure via the manage my booking page) is far higher than your upside (a 1.5 hour ride with a very abbreviated F soft product offering). You will go bananas if you care about F short haul, except for the route I mention above. A number of us regulars routinely argue with folks convinced their F will hold. I remember one such back and forth with a fellow about CGK a year or two ago.....CX kept it constant F, until they didn't.....changing nearly a whole month of potential F reservations after swapping the plane to a non-F plane. In reality I suspect F bookings were slim to none and probably exclusive partner awards, which is why CX is so ruthless about it. Nobody out of HKG flying CX buys regional F tickets except to Tokyo. We all know the drill. Practically, the F-scheduled flights to BKK, TPE etc when they exist are so narrow compared to capacity it really restricts you.

For PEK and PVG, F is guaranteed on KA but NOT CX. But as the poster says above it's not the same on KA. Lovely, but not bling and wow factor. Also fyi KA F utilizes the same seat as CX long-haul J (Cirrus).