Hong Kong will be subject to the same sort of draconian infringements on liberty as mainland China, following a year of street protests demanding just the opposite.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has considered offering a path for British citizenship to some 3.5 million Hong Kong residents, now at risk of confronting police rule under the Chinese Communist Party.
It's a generous offer, but while it may help individuals, it won't save Hong Kong.
Under British rule for 156 years, Hong Kong had limited democracy: its legislative council reserved seats for select business interests.
When Britain transferred its sovereignty back to China, Hong Kong became a locus of liberty-notably a free press.
Just as Hong Kong offered an oasis of liberty for post-1949 refugees from China-and later, ethnic Chinese "Boat people" from Vietnam-so, too, did Odessa grow from a tiny village to a cosmopolitan center of trade and finance.
Without all that, without liberty, Hong Kong-and the world-will be poorer.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has considered offering a path for British citizenship to some 3.5 million Hong Kong residents, now at risk of confronting police rule under the Chinese Communist Party.
It's a generous offer, but while it may help individuals, it won't save Hong Kong.
Under British rule for 156 years, Hong Kong had limited democracy: its legislative council reserved seats for select business interests.
When Britain transferred its sovereignty back to China, Hong Kong became a locus of liberty-notably a free press.
Just as Hong Kong offered an oasis of liberty for post-1949 refugees from China-and later, ethnic Chinese "Boat people" from Vietnam-so, too, did Odessa grow from a tiny village to a cosmopolitan center of trade and finance.
Without all that, without liberty, Hong Kong-and the world-will be poorer.
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