The worst case would be if China disregarded a decisive pro-democracy win in 2007 and 2008 and continued to insist that Hong Kong's people were unready for democracy or to allege foreign manipulation of the pro-democracy camp. Hong Kong's people may well conclude that they have no alternative but to use every occasion to protest chief executive Tung Chee-hwa's unpopular government, making it even harder for him to govern.