The 'gateway' to liberal values in China really is Taiwan that shows that China and Chinese culture are compatible with democracy and these values despite what some claim to justify refusing any such development on the mainland.

Taiwan is the home of the Chinese state that ruled over the whole country from 1912 to 1949 and it managed a democratic transition.

Hongkong has no "liberal" credentials. It has always (which means 150 years) been a commercial and trade centre only without democratic tradition and the recent protests show that politics very quickly turns into "my way or the highway" on both sides.