US ESTA application with Hong Kong ID card

Although this answer is 1 year old , this comes up high on the google search list, and unfortunately has incorrect information so I wanted to correct it for future searches.

Three stars means you're of Chinese Descent. (this is not the same as Chinese Nationality) Technically there is no such thing as a Chinese Citizen, that terminology is not used. Chinese Nationality is as follows. (main points)

Article 4:

Any person born in China whose parents are both Chinese nationals or one of whose parents is a Chinese national shall have Chinese nationality.

Article 5:

Any person born abroad whose parents are both Chinese nationals or one of whose parents is a Chinese national shall have Chinese nationality. But a person whose parents are both Chinese nationals and have both settled abroad, or one of whose parents is a Chinese national and has settled abroad, and who has acquired foreign nationality at birth shall not have Chinese nationality.

https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/residents/immigration/chinese/law.html

So the question for the original poster would be.

Were you born in Hong or China, if so, yes you probably are a Chinese National.

If you were born overseas, were your parents still Chinese Nationals, if so, then yes you are a Chinese National, if not, then no.

The requirements to get HK passport have changed over the years, previously Chinese descent was enough to get a HKSAR passport, now you need to be a Chinese National.