Ok first the Spanish govt clearly did or handle the situation well and some of their responses to the incident is no different than what our government is doing
And I would argue that their situation isn’t incomparable to ours.One country two system (with universal suffrage) of hk is in itself a kind of semi-independence already(if you would think so).This is largely attributed to our historical,political and cultural differences with China.Our ‘independence’ is therefore well justified and it is the deal between uk and china that failed us.We are doing this to right the wrong.And if you think about it,Catalonia is not too much different.It doesn’t matter Spain is generally democratic or not,they are failing Catalonia on this one.