It’s worth noting that after the 1960s protests, Britain made laissez-faire policy official and economic growth skyrocketed, creating lasting social changes that were beneficial for boosting living standards.

To win the hearts and minds of Hong Kongers, Beijing needs to either give people the power to dismantle an economy strangled by property tycoons (e.g. electing a chief executive with actual power) or do it itself, and neither is permissible. China will never let a territory it controls have unfettered universal suffrage, and the mainland itself is turning into the conglomerate/tycoon economy that now restricts Hong Kong. Which is a great deal of irony for a party that started riots over working conditions in the 1960s.