Many people in Hong Kong grasp onto useless documents like the Sino-British Declaration because their actual constitution (the basic law) gave them no assurance to match promises. That constitution always gave the PRC ability to control any and everything there to suppress anything. The appointments always came from Beijing, and it inherits a system similar to City of London where 100% of the people’s vote and representatives can only be 50% of the legislative outcome. Its hopeless - for those deathly afraid of PRC life - and always has been, and China can wait out that “50 year thing” ever so nominally, in a way that doesnt match anything remotely close to what is often repeated in the west about what “should” happen. To me, having read the basic law and prc constitution, China didnt break its agreement, and anyone grasping at the Sino British Declaration is being disingenuous, ignorant, or really that desperate. Only thing to point at is Britain for giving up on negotiations, because they failed the people of Hong Kong back in the 90s and let the basic law be good enough.

But again, look at Macau and why that area isn’t an issue in the minds of the west, its not the smaller population.

Despite rule of law being kind of a burgeoning concept in the PRC (unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles to the stuff they were already going to do), China is pretty predictable and operates within some easy to understand confines.