Hong Kong--Berlin 2.0?

I am looking at the protests in Hong Kong and I also see China contemplating cutting it off from the rest of the country.  I don't know if Beijing is thinking about a physical boundry, but if they are, what are the odds of it turning into a 21st Century Berlin Wall?

The British took Hong Kong away from China in 1842 and held on to it (with a Japanese interlude from 1942-1945) until giving in back in 1997.  China allowed Hong Kong to keep its economy and legal system largely intact and soon China ran down the capitalist path itself.  Politically though, China and Hong Kong are different animals.  Capitalist economy and Communist government in China and a bit more freewheeling in Hong Kong.  Frankly, I am surprised this did not happen sooner.

How it will play out is anyone's guess.  Tienanmen Square comes to mind, though I hope it does not come to that.  Also, the world is different than it was in 1989.  Thirty years later, they will say the same about 2019.   Still, China is China and it will do whatever it feels it needs to do.  PR firms will find calls to Beijing are not going to be returned.

Hopefully, there is some sort of compromise out there, much like the original 1997 agreement that brought Hong Kong into China.

The lesson here, as one can see from the American flags flying in the middle of the Hong Kong airport concourse, is that you cannot hold the people down.

Especially if it spreads to the other 1.3 billion.