You're ascribing motives to the Hong Kong protesters that they don't have. This is not a separatist movement, even though the Chinese government insists on char

You're ascribing motives to the Hong Kong protesters that they don't have. This is not a separatist movement, even though the Chinese government insists on characterizing it as such. Public opinion surveys in Hong Kong show the overwhelming majority of respondents aren't asking for independence. The five demands that are the crux of the current protests don't involve independence. They center on China holding up its end of the "One Country, Two Systems" arrangement by allowing genuine democratic elections in Hong Kong, as guaranteed to them under the Basic Law. The fact that Chinese authorities are lying to their own people about the nature of the protests in Hong Kong is significant. They are terrified of 'contagion'. But since we're discussing this on an American site, we can state the plain facts of the matter, too.