Worse case the SAR region is dissolved and a party official is sent to govern directly. Nah, the worst case is that some of the protesters acquire nuclear weap

Worse case the SAR region is dissolved and a party official is sent to govern directly. Nah, the worst case is that some of the protesters acquire nuclear weapons, threaten mainland China with them, Xi calls their bluff and moves in, it wasn't a bluff, Xi blames America, nuclear World War 3 starts. Or perhaps this peaceful protest gets quashed, and a violent insurrection that lasts decades begins. Beijing has a lot of places to hide IEDs. But it is possible that this dies down and Hong Kong peacefully submits to communism.