Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution A Year After

A Year After the Umbrella Revolution, Calls for More Autonomy, Even Independence, Grow in Hong Kong

A protester wears the colonial Hong Kong flag around his shoulders as he attends a pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong on July 1, 2015, traditionally a day of protest which also marks the anniversary of the handover from Britain to China in 1997, under a "one country, two systems" agreement. Tens of thousands joined a pro-democracy march on the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China on July 1 in what organisers said was a chance to work out the movement's next step as momentum wanes. AFP PHOTO / ANTHONY WALLACE (Photo credit should read ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images)

Frustrated by the realities of Chinese sovereignty, some activists are proposing a dangerous and radical path for the politically divided city

Sai Yeung Choi Street in Hong Kong’s blue-collar Mong Kok neighborhood was a riot of color on the night of July 11 — in more ways than one. Neon signs blared overhead; tinny music from open-air karaoke competitions mingled with the scent of street food. Pedestrians thronged the pavements.

But a group of people stood out. In front of an electronics store, stony-faced policemen had formed a circle around two men — one skinny with greasy bleached hair, the other beefy with a shaved head — and were protecting them from an angry crowd. The men were suspected of organizing performances by groups of dancers, who performed to songs in China’s lingua franca, Mandarin. It was a culturally insensitive — some would say provocative — choice of language for a neighborhood like Mong Kok, which locals regard as heartland Hong Kong. And heartland Hong Kong, above all, is Cantonese-speaking.

Furious demonstrators surrounded the men. “F— your mother, go back to China!” one yelled. Others unfurled flags emblazoned with the Union Jack and the old Hong Kong coat of arms. The flag of colonial Hong Kong has become a potent political symbol in recent years, expressing not so much a love of Britain but a straightforward opposition to China, the Communist Party and everything it stands for. The waving of the flag has become acutely embarrassing to Beijing, but the more Chinese officials complain about it the more it appears at protests.

With some effort, police officers shepherded the men into a van waiting to drive them to safety, but the crowd stayed on. As insults turned to scuffles, some were arrested, others knocked down and pepper-sprayed. For the police, it was yet another encounter with Hong Kong’s vociferous localists. Theirs is a small but active movement that has gained ground following the pro-democracy Umbrella Revolution protests that convulsed the city last autumn and winter. What they seek, at the very least, is greater political and cultural autonomy from China. Some demand outright independence and the formation of a city-state. To a supporter of localism, a musical performance in Mandarin isn’t simply entertainment. It’s a symbol of cultural encroachment by a detested sovereign power.

It is happening quietly — buried within a flurry of small-scale protests, grassroots organizing, and social-media campaigns — but this moment of defiance may mark a turning point for Hong Kong politics. In June, Chin Wan, a professor of Chinese at Hong Kong’s Lingnan University and the figure generally acclaimed as the godfather of localism, published an opened in the New York Times advocating not a unified state but a “Chinese confederacy” that would include a democratic mainland, as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

But no longer is the movement confined to the academic or political fringe. Hong Kong’s soccer fans have taken to jeering the Chinese national anthem at matches. And, in an essay for TIME, Joshua Wong, a prominent leader of last year’s Umbrella Revolution and one of the city’s most recognized political figures, says self-determination is the only solution for Hong Kong. “Hong Kongers should not only focus on universal suffrage, but also fight for the city’s right to self-determination,” he writes.

Localists may have different views on how to get there, but Jerome Chiu, of localist group Civic Passion, tells TIME that “the common denominator is [a desire] for Hong Kongers to decide their local affairs themselves rather than have them be decided by the mainlanders.