I have lived in Hong Kong since 1991 and watched the political changes from British Colony to a Special Administrative Region of China.
It is hard to say whether Hong Kong's freedoms have been eroding since the "handover" of 1997, especially since one can make as valid a criticism of the state of UK and US democracy over the past few years. But there is no doubt that we do not have a democratically elected government. Because of that, Hong Kong's social and economic development has been stunted. The government lacks the ability to mobilise opinion in society and the decision making process has been distorted because of the excessive influence of a small number of people representing a narrow and sometime archaic selection of interests.