> No freedoms are ever unlimited, so that's not an interesting point.

Of course no freedoms are unlimited, so I'm not sure why are you reading this literally?

> The question is, were they useful?

Are we talking about the same thing? I'm talking about the lack of freedom under British rule, and you ask if it was useful for HKers? While there are a lot of people in HK who are not happy about what China is doing now, there is almost no one who would take British rule over that. I actually talked with people about it in person when I was in HK.

I've heard of loads of people who would prefer British rule over Chinese rule. The reasons are obvious: free press, free speech, fair trials. These things have gone far, far backwards under China.