Like Beijing authorities, Leung also has blamed political turbulence on what he calls ‘external forces.’ This echoes Zhou Nan, a Chinese propaganda official, who asserts that “local and overseas forces, who are anti-China, have joined together to seize power in Hong Kong [and] pose a threat to China’s sovereign rule over Hong Kong and its national security.” Yet to date no one has offered any specific evidence of foreign meddling.

There’s every reason to believe new direct and indirect limitations will continue, even ludicrous ones; a Malaysian rapper had to promise not to criticize China before he could perform in Hong Kong. As President Xi intensifies his crackdown on those who resist his policies, he’s unlikely to grant Hong Kong residents additional rights forbidden to other Chinese or stopping restricting those it already enjoys. Hong Kong still stands apart from other Chinese cities in important ways: the Internet is not censored, foreign publications can circulate, political parties are legal, public protests are allowed and the financial system is thoroughly tied into the global economy. It remains a good business site for those who shun politics. But the city is less free than before, and the downward trend shows no sign of ending.

Robert Keatley is a former editor of the Asian Wall Street Journal and the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong.

Image: Flickr/Brian Sterling.