Originally Posted by
worldwidedreamer
One thing to remember: there was nothing stopping the British from giving HK residents a true democracy before 1997, and there is nothing stopping them from giving "right of abode" to HK residents with British Overseas Passports.
There was but one thing which stopped both from happening: The PRC. Recently declassified British files prove it and many people know this already. If you look at all US/UK/French colonies around the world, just about every single one with substantial population became self governing and democratic around 1970. Except Hong Kong.