One Year After the Hong Kong Protests Began, Frustrated Hardliners Call for Independence

In late May and early June, a new chant started to be heard at Hong Kong protests: “Hong Kong Independence, the only way out!” Stymied by their failure to win political concessions from the city’s Beijing-backed government after months of violent street protests, hardline elements among the city’s black-clad democracy activists have taken to openly calling for a break from China. “It’s time to escalate,” says W., a 20-year-old university student involved in the protest movement, who asked to only be identified by an initial. Having spent much of the past year fighting for the ouster of Hong Kong’s leader and a broader electoral system, he now...