British give up Hong Kong early

What would it take for the British to yield Hong Kong prior to the Sino-British declaration? A different prior PRC, or possibly no PRC at all? Discuss.
 
A democratic China.

If a genuinely democratic China asks for its island back, the UK would give it much earlier. After all, it 'de-colonialised' after WW2.
 
Extrapolating from Gibraltar, I'd think the British would give it back if the residents wanted. What would that take? Well, suppose the Chinese sent thousands of double agents in as "refugees" right before a referendum? Of course, how many thousands of those would truly defect?

Slightly related: What would it take for the British to give it to the Republic of China on Taiwan, rather than the People's Republic of China on the mainland?
 
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