The Hong Kong story always seemed too good to be true and its business success too vulnerable to last. Under British rule, unbroken economic growth, year in and year out from the mid-1950s, could never dispel the doubts about its post-colonial prospects. All this was supposed to change in 1997.

Hong Kong officials and business leaders were sure the resumption of Chinese sovereignty would put an end to uncertainty. China’s breakneck growth would guarantee Hong Kong’s prosperity and render political reforms irrelevant.