> Hong Kong made it clear that the idea of increasing prosperity in China will not lead to it's liberalization, nor can China be relied upon to be bound by docu

> Hong Kong made it clear that the idea of increasing prosperity in China will not lead to it's liberalization, nor can China be relied upon to be bound by documents that are "historical documents that no longer have any practical significance." This is a great point, it is underestimated I think in how what happened in Hong Kong impacted perceptions of China. Was the first clearcut example that once China was in they would not respect prior agreements (like around having 2 systems in Hong Kong) which led to a wake up call for what letting China have a big political role in your society would mean.