Apparently, you have watched little of the proceedings in which the opponents have to be redirected by the good Judge to stop trying to make it a sovereignty issue.
There is no evidence of China being the "dominant partner in the TMT" as you say.  If you watch the last testimony by the TMT Director on Big Island Video you would know that China is contributing one mirror and some funding, that is all.  

And BTW, the United States is still the strongest and most free country in the world.  I don't see millions of people illegally sneaking into China!

Additionally, there are many investors waiting in the wings to find out were the TMT will be built.  Funny thing about investors, they tend to shy away from unstable governments in third world countries.

http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2016/12/23/video-tmt-director-testifies-on-observatorys-future/