Philip Bowring, the defendant in one of the 47 pan-democratic primary election cases and the husband of former Legislative Council member Mo Mengjing, was reportedly seriously ill and hospitalized.
54 members of the British Parliament and former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten sent a joint letter to British Foreign Minister James Cleverly, asking him to negotiate with the Hong Kong government and request the release of Mao Mengjing so that she can visit her husband.
The letter, sent on February 24, was signed by 54 cross-party MPs in the House of Commons, led by the former Patten.
Members of the co-signatory said that Philip Bowring and the two sons born to Mao Mengjing are British citizens.
She gave up her British citizenship in 2012 when she was elected to the Legislative Council.
They believed that the British Foreign Office had a "special obligation", so they sought the Hong Kong government's release on humanitarian grounds.
According to Article 17 of the "Prison Rules" Chapter 234A of the Laws of Hong Kong, all persons in custody may apply to the Commissioner of Correctional Services for permission to go out. Sentence, crime, criminal background, security level, public concern, possibility of trespass, time served, behavior in prison, on-site crowd flow, location safety, relationship with family members, and other factors are used for approval. Security risk is one of the important considerations .
The Department pointed out that if a person in custody applies to the institution to go out to visit or worship because of a relative's serious illness or death, the institution will make an assessment based on the above factors.
If the application is approved, persons in custody will be arranged by correctional officers to visit or pay homage to their relatives. During this period, persons in custody are not allowed to have physical contact with anyone present (including relatives).
The Twitter account of the Hong Kong English-language media "Transit Jam" stated on February 9 that Mao Mengjing's husband was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital due to pneumonia, but she was imprisoned in the 47-person primary election case and was unable to visit her husband.
Some Hong Kong news quoted sources on the 3rd that Philip Bowring's condition has improved and he has been transferred from the intensive care unit.