A group of 54 British MPs and public figures are calling for the release of former Hong Kong lawmaker Claudia Mo so she can visit her critically-ill husband, British journalist Philip Bowring.

Mo has been detained since her arrest in 2021 under Hong Kong's controversial national security law. Meanwhile, Bowring is in an intensive care ward in Hong Kong with pneumonia. The group has urged UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to raise the family's case with Hong Kong authorities.

In a letter sent on 24 February, the group argued that the UK's foreign office has a "special responsibility" for Mo's welfare as her husband and two children are UK citizens. Mo had previously held British citizenship, which she gave up after becoming a member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council.

Mo is one of the so-called Hong Kong 47 group, who are on trial for alleged "subversion". She was one of the dozens of pro-democracy figures arrested for organising and holding an unofficial primary vote in 2020. The group includes some of the city's most prominent pro-democracy figures, such as student activist Joshua Wong and law professor Benny Tai. Most of them have been detained for the past two years on security grounds.

The UK-based rights group that organised the letter, Hong Kong Watch, told the BBC they had received no response from Cleverly yet. Signatories to the letter include Hong Kong's last British governor Chris Patten, former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chairman of the Conservative Party's 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady, and former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron.

The letter also notes that many of the 47 charged possess British National Overseas (BNO) status, which under a special visa scheme enables Hong Kong residents to come to the UK for up to five years and apply for permanent residency. The trial of the Hong Kong 47 is ongoing, but 31 people, including Mo, Wong, and Tai, have already pleaded guilty and will be sentenced after the trial.

Critics of the national security law say it is being used as a tool to crush civil dissent, but Chinese and Hong Kong authorities maintain that it is needed to curb unrest.

The call to release Mo and the Hong Kong 47 group comes amid growing concerns about China's crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong. In July 2020, the UK government introduced a new visa scheme for BNO status holders in response to China's imposition of the national security law.

The visa scheme enables BNO status holders to come to the UK with their dependants and work or study for up to five years, with a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship. According to the UK government, nearly 100,000 people have applied for the visa since its launch.

The UK government has also suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and imposed sanctions on several individuals in response to China's crackdown on dissent in the territory. The US and other Western countries have taken similar measures. Photo by Thomas Au, Wikimedia commons.