China’s leader Xi Jinping has marked the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return with a speech that emphasized Beijing’s control over the former British colony under its vision of “one country, two systems."

From left, Director of the Liaison Office and National Security Adviser to the Committee for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong Luo Huining, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, former Hong Kong Chief Executives Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying and head of the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong Zheng Yanxiong attend an opening ceremony for the China's new Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, Wednesday, July 8, 2020. China's new national security office in Hong Kong got off to an early start on Wednesday with an official opening amidst heavy police presence. (Hong Kong Government Information Services via AP)HONG KONG Beijings national security office was inaugurated in Hong Kong on Wednesday, just over a week after China's central government imposed a tough new law on the city that critics view as a further deterioration of freedoms promised to the former British colony. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam together with predecessors Leung Chun-ying and Tung Chee-hwa marked the opening of the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong. The new office was established after Beijing imposed a national security law in Hong Kong that took effect on June 30.