Hong Kong may not have had democracy, but its citizens had strong protection of their social and property rights compared to Mainland China. Individual rights i

Hong Kong may not have had democracy, but its citizens had strong protection of their social and property rights compared to Mainland China. Individual rights is not synonymous with democracy; the whole point of a republic is "Government by law, not by man" - pure democracy can potentially even by detrimental to individual rights, if the majority of the population don't respect certain rights (for instance, the Germans who elected Hitler).