> I'm unclear why people expected HK to ever be autonomous permanently? No one did, but the treaty said it would semi-autonomous for 50 years. These actions a

> I'm unclear why people expected HK to ever be autonomous permanently? No one did, but the treaty said it would semi-autonomous for 50 years. These actions are 27 years early, so they didn't even keep their end of the deal for half the time they promised. Also, a lot can happen in three decades, and one could have held out hope that the PRC could have undergone some kind of liberal reforms before the treaty expired.