Hong Kong is not the worst choice, maybe even the best of a bunch of shitty options. Given that the US will absolutely seek to extradite (or worse), the biggest factor is who is willing and able to offer at least temporary protection. Small, well-integrated countries aren't likely to fit that description, and China will at least put the brakes on while they figure out what to do, which will take a while.

There's also the fact that China and the US just had an "informal" summit and are having further high-level talks in July.