The local HK government has no power, it is controlled by the CCP. So at least in this case, I can buy the argument. An American analogy of your argument would

The local HK government has no power, it is controlled by the CCP. So at least in this case, I can buy the argument. An American analogy of your argument would be something like “but >3.5% of LA wanted policy XYZ, why didn’t it work”