memes

Really all the west has to offer is vague and empty phrases and a slight feeling of smug superiority

100% this. Everytime a hog or a lib says we have freedom, I ask them "What freedom, exactly?" It's just vibes and vague platitudes

It was literally a colony, governed by unelected foreign officials from the other side of the world. No HKer was ever a governor, it was always anglos. Very democratic, very free

The freedom to call Chinese people locusts.

Lured by cheaper prices in Shenzhen, Yip moved across the border into a bigger apartment in November and now has a 1.5-hour commute to work in the Central business district on Hong Kong island. The research associate at a financial firm laments the shrinking space for speech in his former home, but doesn’t believe politics should get in the way of a good life. "People may oppose the central government or have concerns about political freedom, but how does these concerns affect your everyday life? The truth is that it doesn’t,” he said.

and a slight feeling of smug superiority.

It's literally just this. They liked being honorary Aryans.

That's pretty much the cope I would expect. China needs to up its soft power game in order to really win hearts and minds the way western countries have.

its distinct identity from China

This is the part that sucks; they've lost that cultural quality of being British boot lickers and are gaining the average Chinese cultural trait of having pride in oneself and in their country's accomplishments.