I get your point that it wasn't a true or complete democracy in a very real sense. Only the British people got to influence (through national elections in Brita

I get your point that it wasn't a true or complete democracy in a very real sense. Only the British people got to influence (through national elections in Britain) what was happening there. Russia is a theoretical democracy because you get to vote for Putin or some random non-threatening person. But it's pretty different than living in HK under British rule.