It has been two years since the Hong Kong Government prosecuted 47 candidates at the pro-democracy primaries. Fifty-Four bipartisan members of the House of Commons and the British human rights group Hong Kong Watch urged the Foreign Office to step in and push for the release of the defendants.
Bipartisan members, including former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten, signed a petition on Feb. 24, demanding British Foreign Minister James Cleverly to intervene with the Hong Kong government to release former Legislative Council member Claudia Mo Man-ching.
The members also urged Cleverly that it would be the Foreign Office’s duty to assist and facilitate the release of BNO passport holders in the 47 Democrat primaries case.
Despite pleading guilty, Claudia Mo (Auntie Mo to Hong Kong protesters), who participated in the pro-democracy primary election, has been remanded and in custody for over two years.
The joint letter mentioned Cleverly should “intercede on Claudia Mo’s behalf with the Hong Kong Government” and allow Mo to visit her British husband, Philip Bowring, who has been in the hospital’s intensive care due to pneumonia.
The joint letter pointed out that Mo was originally a British citizen but renounced her British nationality in 2012 due to the Legislative Council election.
The letter also noted that Philip Bowring and their children are British citizens, so the 54 members asked the foreign affairs office to consider Mo’s previous British nationality. They reminded the Foreign Office of its delicate responsibility to support Mo’s release.
Members who signed the signatures included Alicia Kearns, chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Iain Duncan Smith, former leader of the Conservative Party, and David Davis, a former cabinet member.
In January 2023, Ian Duncan Smith had once been asked, during a parliamentary prime minister’s Q&A session, about Jimmy Lai, the founder of the now-defunct newsgroup Apple Daily.
Smith responded, at the time, that Britain would carry on “robustly in standing up to what we believe to be Chinese aggression.”
Hostage Diplomacy Is Becoming a Norm in China
Hong Kong Watch announced on March 2 that it submitted evidence to the British Parliamentary Select Committees on Foreign Affairs on the 47 Democrats Case, with a particular mention of Mo, and the now-dissolved Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, Carol Ng Man-yee.Hong Kong argued that both Mo and Ng, once British citizens, were part of the family members of the United Kingdom, The Foreign Office should ensure their consular rights and prompt their release.
Hong Kong Watch also urged the Foreign Affairs Office to review, as soon as possible, whether the 47 arrested democrats had contacts with the UK, including any family members of British citizens, BNO passport holders, and statuses on their family British citizenship.
Hong Kong Watch also echoed that The UK Government should work with like-minded partners to press for the release of the 47 democrats.
The organization also described its political trials as a stain on Hong Kong’s past status as a center of an independent judiciary and the rule of law.
Mo’s Husband Became Critically Ill
News suddenly broke in early February 2023. Philip Bowring was hospitalized with pneumonia and had been in the intensive care unit.At that time, Mo’s former assistant and former Yau Tsim Mong District councilor, Chan Ka-long, posted an appeal on Facebook, hoping that the authorities could release Mo on bail based on a humanitarian standpoint to care for her loved ones.
Philip Bowring, an 80-year-old British journalist and historian has lived in Asia since 1973. Bowring has been a reporter, editor, and columnist for prominent media outlets. He was also editor-in-chief of the Far Eastern Economic Review.
In April 2021, Mo’s bail was rejected. Bowring was present in court and became very emotional as he listened to the closing statements from both prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Mo started as a journalist. Mo gained fame as a reporter for Agence France-Presse, TVB Chinese and English TVB, and a program host for Radio Television Hong Kong.
Mo later switched her career to politics, joined the Civic Party, and was elected to the Legislative Council.
After being reelected in 2016, Mo left the Civic Party and continued to work at the Legislative Council as a founding member of HK First.
In 2020, Mo ran for re-election in the pro-democracy primary.
However, the government accused everyone involved in the primaries of violating the Hong Kong National Security Law. Mo and 56 other pro-democracy figures and activists were arrested in January 2021 during a police raid.
On Feb. 28, 2021, Mo and 46 other people were charged with “conspiracy to subvert state power” under the National Security Law.
Although several arrestees were released on bail, Mo remains detained.
Mo later applied to the High Court for bail. Still, the National Security Law designated judge Esther Toh Lye-bing denied her, claiming Mo would continue to endanger national security if she were let out.
