If you want to look at it only in terms of politics, then Hong Kong should also be excluded. I don't think it is. Taiwan claims all of China as theirs, less so

If you want to look at it only in terms of politics, then Hong Kong should also be excluded. I don't think it is. Taiwan claims all of China as theirs, less so with the current political party, and US policy is also one China. (No surprise if the US is trying to bet on Taiwan to turn China one day into a democratic place.) So it makes sense to lump all of Chinese power into one big force of influence even if it is politically separated into three or more parts.