I have an image which installs task-core-lsb. This task includes the lsbsetup recipe which, for some reason, overwrites the localtime with HongKong time. Reading ticket #1079 it seems like this was a workaround because of a bug in the mbsrtowcs function. The real fix would be to fix the mbsrtowcs function and drop the link to HongKong time.
Fixed by Yocto commit: 9f836a4595dc4524ebd95db02165ef28dda51010
Verified with 1.4_M1. Branch: 1.4_M1 Tag: 1.4_M1.rc1 Commits: poky: 247b6a3754c2c50318e2a73d79981ba0e9cb560b