Scientology has yet to establish a significant presence in Hong Kong and the mainland, which might be something to do with founder L. Ron Hubbard's infamous remark that Chinese people 'smell of all the baths they didn't take. The problem with China is there are too many chinks there'.
Hubbard recorded these thoughts in his diary following trips to the mainland in 1927 and 1928 when his father was stationed at the US military base on Guam. Hubbard later claimed to have been made a lama priest by a Beijing magician called Old Mayo in the western hills of China after a year as a neophyte. This event is not included in Hubbard's own diaries and most critics of Scientology say the event was invented to bolster Hubbard's biography.
There are no specific restrictions on Scientology in Hong Kong and the church is allowed to operate freely so long as it obeys the laws of the territory.
The mission holder at the Hong Kong Dianetics Centre says that at present it has 'very few' members and he is confident that all the church's activities in the city are above board.