The only reason Hong Kong has had this period of independence is a side effect of western power subjugating the Chinese mainland. As the Chinese mainland grows in global power and the west decays into internal squabbles there should be no expectation that the pretenses of western power will remain intact.
I think I'm being downvoted out of some sense of political duty to Hong Kong from westerners, but really there has been nothing holding the mainland back other than the threat of western power. If there is no threat, there is nothing that will hold them back, whether we find it tasteful or not.
