In most ways, I think China is on the right side of things in HK. In general, I'm sympathetic to any protest against repressive authority.
But first off, HK has never been a democracy, has never chosen it's leaders solely through popular vote. Britain only started expanding democracy in HK after the agreement with China was reached and the handover date was approaching.
Secondly, China has largely abided by the 1 country 2 system approach for 20 years, giving HK a significant degree of autonomy. Sure at times China interprets the Basic Law in its favor and has incrementally increased its hold/control over HK. And the extradition bill which sparked this year's protests was such a small but potentially dangerous China overreach. Yet China has largely kept it's word and allowed HK to remain autonomous.
Third, the protests in HK have increasingly had a violent element, and a gov't can't accept having its only airport shut down, police attacked with weapons, main business districts blocked and shut down, etc. China has shown restraint by letting HK deal with the protests.
Lastly, I'm not sure what the protesters end game is. They want the HK leader to resign, but every post-handover HK leader has been approved by Beijing. And so would any replacement. The voting/selection process is set-up/rigged to allow that.
I don't think Daryl Morey or most US politicians know much about HK's history and status.
Aren't there any Muslim NBAers these days? That's where China deserves criticism. And so you don't think I've gone all soft, I thought the moment is ripe for Trump to whip out a Reagan Berlin Wall moment. Forget about little HK, challenge China's government legitimacy.
(or even start small and ask why Twitter is blocked in China -- what is the gov't afraid of? I mean it is Trump's platform of choice)