Hong Kongers would very much like to choose their own leadership. I understand that you're arguing from a mainland Chinese perspective, but in so doing you're ignoring the people who ought to have the most to say.
The irony is that Trump getting involved in pressuring for the release of Jimmy Lai just makes him look even more like an American asset.
And I cannot escape the feeling that a lot of Americans believe that a democratic China would be friends with the US...
In Trumps world it mostly seems you are either an asset or a liability. They do no want a multipolar world.