some success today - i called up the hotline and all is well. FWIW, the call center staff confirmed that as long as it didn't exceed 24 hours, i would be allowed into HKG on layover.

i didn't book my flight as i'm now wait listed elsewhere

however, after my call i disabled my VPN and i could use the site without issue (i tested with both Windscribe and PIA VPN and both seemed to give me the same red-text problem).

with them disabled, it works A-O-K. very weird, but it is what it is. thanks once again!