Hong Kong has marked the 25th anniversary of its handover from British to Chinese rule.

The AP found that the population control measures are backed by mass detention both as a threat and as a punishment for failure to comply. However, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the reports of forced birth control for minorities were shocking and disturbing in a statement Monday. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian fired back on Tuesday by calling Pompeo a brazen liar, saying the Uighur population had more than doubled since 1978 in response to criticism of Xinjiangs birth control policies. For decades, Xinjiangs population grew quickly, as minorities enjoyed laxer birth control restrictions than Han Chinese. on them. University of Colorado researcher Darren Byler said the Chinese state-orchestrated assault on Xinjiang's minorities does echo past birth control programs.

Pro-democracy demonstrators hold up a banner and portraits of jailed Chinese civil rights activists, lawyers and legal activists as they march to the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong, Thursday, June 25, 2020. The banner read "One-party dictatorship harms the country, abolish the national security law and defend human rights and freedom in Hong Kong". The central government in Beijing also would set up a national security office in Hong Kong to collect and analyze intelligence and deal with criminal cases related to national security. We believe there are now very real fears of a human rights and humanitarian tragedy in Hong Kong, the former U.N. officials statement said. We hope the cumulative effect will persuade (President) Xi Jinping that whatever his aspirations in Hong Kong ... the government elite will lose more than it will gain.

BEIJING BEIJING (AP) The last British governor of Hong Kong criticized the Chinese government on Friday over proposed national security legislation, calling it part of an Orwellian" drive to eliminate opposition in violation of the agreement on handing the territory over to Beijing. Chris Patten defended Londons announcement that it would grant residency and a path to citizenship for nearly 3 million Hong Kong residents if Beijing goes through with passage of the legislation. An earlier push to pass security legislation was shelved after massive Hong Kong street protests against it in 2003. Patten said the security legislation is unnecessary because Hong Kong's legal code already includes provisions to combat terrorism, financial crimes and other threats to security. Beijing has ignored promises that Hong Kong could democratize of its own accord after the handover, Patten said.