Can the third country just be a transit back to country of origin?

Taipei > Shanghai > HK > Taipei

This itinerary should be OK to apply for 72/144 hr free transit on arrival correct? But just want to ask is it still OK if HK is just a transit stop to Taipei? In other words, I have a return ticket (multi-city) from Taipei to Shanghai but the return leg is via HK, just so I can apply for the China transit visa. Is that still OK?