U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday condemned Thailand's return of at least 40 Uyghurs to China, where Washington says members of the Muslim group have faced genocide.

Dozens of Uyghur men detained in Thailand after fleeing China may have been secretly deported to their home country, activists and rights groups said on Thursday, warning they could face torture and imprisonment on their return.

Human rights groups warned that the Uyghurs, who were held in Bangkok for more than a decade, will face mistreatment from Chinese authorities back in Xinjiang.

"I never comment on that," Trump said at the White House. "I don't want to ever put myself in that position." Trump spoke during a Cabinet meeting in response to a reporter's question about whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (February 26) declined to comment in response to a question about whether the United States would ever allow China to take control of Taiwan by force. What are Ukraine's critical minerals and why does Trump want them?

President Donald Trump said he didn’t want to comment when asked Wednesday whether it was the policy of his administration to prevent China from taking control of Taiwan by force.