quadspeed I think we are on the same page here. It was the changing state of the restrictions of Hong Kong I was trying to put into the world perspective.
I am deeply concerned about the state of the freedoms of Hong Kong, the 47 political activists who are imprisoned for an act done that was not illegal at that time, for the lack of legal recourse in Hong Kong and the control of the Hong Kong government not being in the hands of Hong Kong people.
I feel that Beijing in 1995 as an expatriate worker was much less repressive than Hong Kong is in 2021. Now it is not enough to "keep your trap shut" as our most eloquent contributor above has put it. Anyone in the population can be suspected of a form of disloyalty to the president, if they are reported as being so. The law is now only interpreted by Beijing, not by the courts of Hong Kong. To me that is the most serious concern.