Devil's advocate here...Are they not separatist? If not, shouldn't they be?
It's hard to imagine your "country" working on a death clock. In 2047 it all ends. So, what is the point of fighting the good fight at this point? Why not face the inevitable and leave while you can? Or fight for a final independence now, while you can?
Most separatists are probably protestors, but that does not imply most protestors are separatists.
It's to stop calling it a riot and release anybody who is arrested because of it.
Just because you're rioting for democracy, doesn't mean it's not a riot, and it doesn't grant those who used it as an opportunity to vandalize shops and destroy subways a free pass. That directly conflicts with the rule of law.
These are their demands (more or less):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Hong_Kong_protests#Object...
Full-on separatism would give the PLA a more plausible reason to declare an insurrection and go full Tiananmen Square. Also, a lot of HKers who support the existing demands would not be on board with it.
Because there's still 28 years to go, and a lot can happen in 28 years.
A lot can happen in that time. Given the direction of things, do you think it will be better? I guess I don't.
When HK is supposed to hand itself over to China's rule in 2047, do you think there will be ANY international support for their independence? I don't. That would be directly against the deal that was struck.
Wouldn't it be better to use China's interference as a pretext for independence, claiming it was China who has broken the bargain?
American independence wasn't about a tea tax or a few soldiers defending themselves in Boston. It was about inevitability and using those events to propel it.
In 1982, pretty much everyone assumed the Soviet Union was still going to be around in 1992, but it wasn't.
Who knows what China will look like in 2047. A lot can happen in 28 years.