#Britain gp 2019

[umlewis]

🐐👑 📷 steve etherington / emily davenport / alastair staley / jerry andre / mirko stange / mark sutton / steve etherington / fia pool / steven tee

[lewishamiltonstuff]

He was so hot for this 🥵🥵🥵

2019 British GP, Sir Lewis Hamilton setting the fastest lap on the last lap with 32 lap old hard compound tyres

[mysteriouslyjovialcolor]

Britain 2019

-Why was there a whole movie trailer played before this race??

-Charles and Max second row>>

-Red Bull working overtime to fix the car end plates a minute before the formation lap??

-“Somehow they all have managed to be pointing in the right direction. Side by side as they were through the first few corners”

-Those first few corners were actually so speedy. Especially the first one

-Daniel and Lando wheel to wheel!!

-Not the Haas falling all the way to the bottom

-“Already they’re coming round to lap Kevin Magnussen” it’s lap 3 😭

-Woah!! Lewis and Valterri!! Ohmygodd they’re just exchanging the lead one turn after the other

-“As we say goodbye to Kevin Magnussen” Nooo

-“Verstappen trying to overtake Leclerc? What could possibly go wrong?” Haha

-Poor Max stuck in a Ferrari sandwich

-No fr, those Ferrari’s are really playing with him. Charles pushing him back, Sebastian forcing him ahead

-Oh Pierre! Let’s go!!

-Now both Red Bulls are stuck in a Ferrari sandwich

-Oh come on why’d Pierre pit?? That undercut better work

-“Ricciardo has pulled the trigger on his fight with Lando Norris” Daniel also trying the undercut

-Oh both Max and Charles pitting at the same time??

-Aaaah the pit crew celebrating!!

-Ohmygod they’re wheel to wheel!!

-Charlesss

-Ooh Daniel’s undercut worked

-Charles and Max really do make racing look like a choreographed dance

-Love how them squabbling opened up a gap for Valterri to pit

-Ah they’re both going for it so hard. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen

-Oh no, safety car!

-Lewis in the lead!

-How is Sebastian suddenly p3?!

-Daniel came into change his tires again and dropped down places and theoretically this is better in the long run, but I don’t trust Renault

-“How the hell did we lost the position?” Well Charles, Ferrari may have made a questionable call

-Still not the worst place to be for him though, he could easily make up places

-“Be careful with any overtakes on Gasly” “And other way around” Haha

-“Not shy these new kids in Formula 1” Let’s go 2019 rookies!

-Charles pulling Max’s Austria move here. I love it

-Can’t believe Nico and Checo made contact and dropped down

-Yellow flags again?

-After watching Charles defend from Max like crazy it feels very weird seeing him try and fail to pass someone else

-Finally Charles!

-Sebastian’s race came around huh (I mean unless Max gets past him)

-Let’s go Max!! Oh shitttt oh shit oh shit

-“The man who won 4 world championships for Red Bull has run into a Red Bull”

-I can’t believe this, he had p3!

-That Red Bull mechanic in the pit lane cheering and then instantly holding his head in shock is me rn

-Sebastian might get a penalty but he doesn’t really need one, he’s p17 (last)

-I’m still in shock and a little annoyed, but oh well

-“Hulkenburg’s got a problem. Hulkenburg has got an issue” And this all just got worse

-Lewis pitting? Not pitting?

-What is Mercedes doing? Why are they so confused about whether Lewis needs to pit or not?

-“Where’s Lewis? How much in front and what’s his lap time?” Charles? He’s like 26s ahead?

-Oh yay! Nico’s back in points!

-Winning your home race 6 times (and more now) is insane behavior

-“Get in there Lewis! That’s a home win mate!”

-That scene of him flying his flag after the win>>>

[ummick]

formula 2 driver mick schumacher in the paddock during the f1 grand prix weekend, germany - july 27, 2019 📷 sebastian gollnow / alamy

[lewishamiltonarchives]

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Great Britain with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Monaco at the Bahrain GP 2019

[mariacallous]

Britain was hit far harder by the Covid-19 pandemic than other developed countries because the NHS had been “seriously weakened” by disastrous government policies over the preceding decade, a wide-ranging report will conclude this week.

An assessment of the NHS by the world-renowned surgeon Prof Ara Darzi, commissioned in July by the health secretary, Wes Streeting, will find that the health service reduced its “routine healthcare activity by a far greater percentage than other health systems” in many key areas during the Covid crisis.

Hip and knee replacements, for instance, fell by 46% and 68% respectively. Hospital discharges as a whole dropped by 18% between 2019 and 2020 in the UK compared with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average of 10%, Lord Darzi will say.

In a key section of his report, the crossbench peer will also conclude that the NHS is still suffering the aftereffects of its inability to respond adequately to the Covid shock at the time.

“The state of the NHS today cannot be understood without recognising quite how much care was cancelled, discontinued, or postponed during the pandemic … The pandemic’s impact was magnified because the NHS had been seriously weakened in the decade preceding its onset.”

Darzi will be particularly critical of former Tory health secretary Andrew Lansley’s top-down reorganisation of the NHS under David Cameron’s prime ministership, which he will say “scorched the earth for health reform”.

“The Health and Social Care Act of 2012 was a calamity without international precedent – it proved disastrous,” Darzi will say, adding: “The result of the disruption was a permanent loss of capability from the NHS … This is an important part of the explanation for the deterioration in performance of the NHS as a whole.

“Rather than liberating the NHS, as it had promised, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 imprisoned more than a million NHS staff in a broken system for the best part of a decade.”

Lord Lansley defended his reforms, saying Darzi should be focusing on the “here and now” rather than reaching back over a decade for a “blame the Tories” narrative.

“The 2012 act created NHS England. It empowered the NHS. It reduced administration costs by £1.5bn. Waiting times fell to their lowest level. The longest waits were virtually eliminated,” said Lansley. He added that if his plans had been fully implemented, they would have made the NHS more internationally competitive.

The Tories are preparing to criticise the Darzi report as politically driven because its author was a minister under the previous Labour government and was a member of the Labour party until he resigned in 2019.

Labour will, however, point to his impressive CV and the fact that he held prominent positions while the Tories were in power, including sitting as the UK global ambassador for health and life sciences from 2009 until March 2013. Also, in 2015, Darzi was appointed as nonexecutive director of the NHS regulatory body Monitor, which oversaw the quality and performance management of healthcare in England.

The Darzi report – which will also find that more than 100,000 infants (0 to two-year-olds) were left waiting for more than six hours in A&E departments in England last year – is being seen as a watershed moment by senior NHS figures.

Streeting is expected to use the report as the foundation for his own blue-sky thinking on reform. The current NHS England long-term plan introduced in 2019 was drawn up before the pandemic, which has caused waiting lists to lengthen to a point where 6.39 million people are waiting for 7.62m treatments.

Streeting said last year that he believed the NHS required three big shifts, from sickness to prevention, from hospitals to GPs and community services, and from an “analogue service to one that embraces the technological revolution”.

Two other key reports to be published this week also paint a bleak picture of the health service’s prospects under current spending constraints.

A survey of trust chief executives and finance directors by NHS Providers, the membership organisation for hospital, mental health, community and ambulance service users, has found more than half (51%) to be “extremely concerned” about their ability to deliver on their priorities within the tight financial limits for 2024-5.

Nine out of 10 thought the financial situation more challenging than last year. Among the measures they were having to consider were “extending vacancy freezes”, “reducing substantive staffing numbers” and “scaling back services”.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said that with funding so tight the message was that ways had to be found to secure multi-year investment in reforms that would increase productivity “instead of this stop-start approach to NHS funding which leaves them constantly worrying about budget cuts followed by quick fix, short- term funding announcements”.

In addition, a report from the NHS Confederation and healthcare consultancy CF (Carnall Farrar) has found that Labour’s pledge to create an extra 40,000 appointments a week in England would not stop waiting lists from rising.

It would only deliver 15% of what was needed to ensure 92% of patients start routine hospital treatment within 18 weeks – a key target that has not been hit for nearly a decade.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said it was unlikely that there would be any significant reduction in waiting lists until spring or summer next year.

He added: “We need to be realistic about the fact that unless we do some pretty transformative stuff, demand is going to grow substantially. Almost everyone agrees we need to transform the NHS by investing in prevention. To do that, you have to double run [opening new services before old ones close].

“None of those things can be achieved for free. What we need from Rachel Reeves is a recognition that the long-term sustainability of the health service, the public sector and the economy as a whole, rests on shifting the health demand curve.”

Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday morning, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, will echo Darzi’s assessment, saying the Tories “broke” the NHS in ways that were “unforgivable”.

He will add: “Our job now, through Lord Darzi, is properly to understand how that came about and bring about the reforms, starting with the first steps, the 40,000 extra appointments.”

[devilsupdates]

Some world info on the devils that is playing in the world this won’t go in order of events.

Nico Hischier just set a new personal best in points at Worlds! 🫡 His primary assist on Kevin Fiala's PPG was his 10th point of the tournament (6GP), passing his 9 from 2019.

What an outlet pass out of the zone for Luke, he springs his teammates right out of there! From the far blueline sends the pass on the diagonal

USA takes a 1-0 lead on Kahzakstan.

Simon Nemec leads all Slovak defensemen through their five games with six points (1g-5a). His six points also tie a career-high at the tournament he set in 2022 (1g-5a, 8 GP).

Nico Hischier is currently the leading scorer among all forwards at this year's World Championship with nine points in five games (5g-4a). And he's second overall in the tournament scoring behind only his teammate Roman Josi’s 10 points. Just Nico being Nico. 🫡

Our Dawson seals the victory for Canada! Mercer once again on the ice for Canada defending a one-goal lead in the final moments the game. His second empty-netter of the tournament. Are we up?! Nico Hischier has a three-point game (1g-2A) going for Switzerland… all before the 4-minute mark of the second period. He’s factored in on 3 of the 4 Swiss goals against Denmark.

“My brother Jack was really disappointed he couldn’t come. It’s something he really wanted to do.” - Luke Hughes at Worlds Jack, of course, is recovering from surgery.

Ondrej Palat sets up Tomasek for Czechia’s fourth goal of the game against Austria.

Czechia getting a big boost on their Worlds roster as Martin Necas is on his way, less than 24 hours after the Hurricanes were eliminated from the playoffs. Czechia is hosting this year’s tournament.

The big man is back! Kurtis MacDermid re-ups with #NJDevils  on a three year deal!

Yesterday was a big day for our Simon Nemec. He etched his name in the IIHF history books. And all as a U20 player.

Big day for Nico Daws! Played his first game of Worlds, backstopping Canada to a 4-1 win over Norway *and* earning an assist on Canada’s 4th goal *and* gets a little kiss on the forehead! 😅 Way to go, Dawsy!

Your friend and mine, Luke Hughes with another point at the World Championship today. Secondary assist on Matt Boldy's first goal of the game.

We have re-signed forward Samuel Laberge to a one-year, two-way contract.

#NEWS: We have re-signed forward Brian Halonen to a two-year, two-way contract.

Akira Schmid posts a shutout for @SwissIceHockey against Great Britain. His first Worlds start. 15 saves. Nico Hischier with a goal and Jonas Siegenthaler with an assist. #NJDevils  reported for duty!

#MensWorlds goal-scoring leaders:

1. Oliver Kapanen, FIN - 5

2. Connor Bedard, CAN - 4

3. Nico Hischier, SUI - 3

Nemo! 🎯

Simon Nemec unleashes a bomb on the Slovak power play and puts Slovakia up 3-1 on the USA.

What a shot!

Hattrick for Nico Hischier against Austria - well done!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

#20yrsago WIPO notes from day three: democracy == ignoring dissent https://web.archive.org/web/20041124024604/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/002130.php#002130

#15yrsago Britain’s new Internet law — as bad as everyone’s been saying, and worse. Much, much worse. https://memex.craphound.com/2009/11/19/britains-new-internet-law-as-bad-as-everyones-been-saying-and-worse-much-much-worse/

#5yrsago DJ Earworm: 100 songs from the past decade in one mashup https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=UhIte8t6BEg

#5yrsago Leaks reveal how the “Pitbull of PR” helped Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers ignite the opioid crisis https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-purdue-pharma-media-playbook-how-it-planted-the-opioid-anti-story#171238

#5yrsago Beyond the gig economy: “platform co-ops” that run their own apps https://www.vice.com/en/article/worker-owned-apps-are-trying-to-fix-the-gig-economys-exploitation/

#5yrsago Elizabeth Warren’s plan to denazify America https://medium.com/@teamwarren/fighting-back-against-white-nationalist-violence-87b0c550f51f

#5yrsago Youtube told them to use this “royalty-free” music; now rightsholders are forcing ads on their videos and claiming most of the revenue https://torrentfreak.com/royalty-free-music-supplied-by-youtube-results-in-mass-video-demonetization-191118/

#5yrsago The State of South Dakota wants you to know that it’s on meth https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/11/18/meth-were-it-says-south-dakota-new-ad-campaign/

#5yrsago Sand thieves believed to be behind epidemic of Chinese GPS jamming https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/11/15/131940/ghost-ships-crop-circles-and-soft-gold-a-gps-mystery-in-shanghai/

#5yrsago Quiet Rooms: Illinois schools lead the nation in imprisoning very young, disabled children in isolation chambers https://features.propublica.org/illinois-seclusion-rooms/school-students-put-in-isolated-timeouts/#170648

#5yrsago Terabytes of data leaked from an oligarch-friendly offshore bank https://web.archive.org/web/20191117042726/https://data.ddosecrets.com/file/Sherwood/

#5yrsago Naomi Kritzer’s “Catfishing on the CatNet”: an AI caper about the true nature of online friendship https://memex.craphound.com/2019/11/19/naomi-kritzers-catfishing-on-the-catnet-an-ai-caper-about-the-true-nature-of-online-friendship/

#5yrsago Girl on Film: a graphic novel memoir of a life in the arts and the biological basis for memory-formation https://memex.craphound.com/2019/11/19/girl-on-film-a-graphic-novel-memoir-of-a-life-in-the-arts-and-the-biological-basis-for-memory-formation/

[russellius]

GWR.

sources below the cut

HP Podcast 12:00 ; George Russell - Britain’s next F1 champion? // Segovia Amil // Start Here by Caitlyn Siehl // Ready for Takeoff with George Russell // Drive to Survive: Dances with Wolff 8:04 // Beyond the Grid 2022 // The Independent: ‘I don’t care about second’: George Russell on targeting a first race victory and off-track fame hitting home // HP Podcast 24:08 ; Russell answers Norris: “I’m not here to play silly buggers, I’m here to win” // --- // HP Podcast 1:04:19 //  --- // Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo // --- // --- // Sula by Toni Morrison // HP Podcast 1:07:12 // HP Podcast 36:05 // Drive to Survive: Dances with Wolff 3:58 // William Jennings Bryan // Beyond the Grid 2022 // 2019 Monaco GP // --- // --- // You Never Give Me Your Money by The Beatles // The End of Longing by Chelsea Hodson // If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio // 2022 Brazilian GP ; HP Podcast 1:28:00 // Carry That Weight by The Beatles // Andrew Boyd // --- // --- // King Kong by DeStorm Power

[garnetaldebaran]

Valtteri Bottas and Jenson Button Great Britain GP 2019

[eaglesnick]

Private Sector Good, Public Sector Bad? (3)

This is the third part of a look at former public services and utilities in Britain that have been privatised or part-privatised in the name of neoliberal economics and the mistaken belief that private enterprise is ALWAYS more efficient than publicly run bodies.

The National Health Service

The Tory Party and successive Tory governments, including the Sunak administration, vehemently deny they are slowly privatising the NHS.

“Sunak pledges to cut waits with greater healthcare choice but denies NHS privatisation plan."  (Health and Protection: 04/01/23)

Such denials are deliberately misleading. According to the World Health Organisation:

“Privatisation is where non-government bodies become increasingly involved in the financing or provision of health care services”.

The Tory Health Care Act of 2012 removed the "duty of government” to provide NHS services directly, opening up NHS care provision to the private sector. This trend has been further accelerated by the 2022 Heath and Care Act. The Guardian had this to say about the change in the law:

“The new bill will continue the dismantling of the NHS, this time by adopting more features from the US health system. For anyone who cares about the NHS, this should set off alarm bells.” (Guardian: 07/12/21)

What we need to remember when reviewing the provision of public services by private companies is that the first duty of a private company is to make profits for it’s shareholders. The profit driven motive of private enterprise may lead to more cost savings but often at the expense of quality of service

“There is only a small number of studies addressing the effect of privatisation on the quality of care offered by health-care providers, and yet within this small group of longitudinal studies, we find a fairly consistent picture. At the very least, health-care privatisation has almost never had a positive effect on the quality of care." (Lancet: "The effect of health-care privatisation on the quality of care”, March 2024

In 2019, (November 29th) the Guardian reported that private firms had received £15bn over a five-year period for NHS provision. By  2019/20 Health Care Commissioners were spending £10bn a year on services delivered by the private sector. (The Kings Fund: Is the NHS being privatised, 01/03/21)

Despite this massive increase in NHS private provision, we all know the health service is on its knees. Before 2010 multi-year funding of the largely publicly run NHS saw the NHS improve its service provision. 14 years of Tory government, two health care acts later, and we see a total reversal in those trends. By 2014 signs of stress were becoming apparent. David Cameron and George Osborne deliberately starved the NHS of money, NHS budgets rising on average only 1.4% between 2009-19 compared to the 3.7% yearly rises since the NHS was first established.

The NHS is slowly bleeding to death: emergency departments are overcrowded, extended waiting times in A&E are leading to over 200 unnecessary deaths per week, there are not enough hospital beds, staff are demoralised, and doctors strikes continue because the government refuses to pay public sector workers a fair wage. Waiting lists continue to grow, it is impossible to find a NHS dentist and sick people have to wait weeks for a simple GP appointment.

This systematic rundown of the NHS by successive Tory governments is not all bad news as privatisation has benefited the lucky few.

Staff agencies are doing very nicely thank you, the BBC reporting that:

“Companies providing freelance staff to the NHS to cover for big shortages of doctors and nurses have seen their income rise by tens of millions of pounds since 2019.” (24/03/23)

Total spending on agency staff in England was £3bn in 2021, one hospital reportedly paying £5200 to a free-lance doctor for a single shift. It would be nice to say that doctors are not complicit in the gradual privatisation of the NHS but that would be untrue.

“Hundred’s of England's NHS consultants have shares in private clinics.”  (Guardian: 21/01/22)

Over a billion pounds has been generated by these set ups since 2015

But it is not only doctors who profit personally from privatisation. During the pandemic, top Tories were very quick to pass on lucrative contracts to their friends in business. These largely unscrutinised public contracts have drawn accusations of “cronyism” and "chumocracy". Others have been more blunt, the Financial Times  (06/08/21) asking the question: “When does cronyism become corruption?"

The shortage of PPE during the pandemic led to contracts being awarded to companies without competition. Literally billions of pounds were given to private companies to supply gowns, gloves, and face masks.

“But the way these deals have been given to firms has led to concerns over a lack of detail about why particular suppliers were chosen. The government has also been accused of favouring firms with political connections to the Conservative Party with a "high-priority lane".  (BBC News: 20/04/21)

This accusation turned out to be true.

"UK government’s ‘VIP lane' for PPE suppliers was unlawful. High Court rules.”  (Financial Times 12/01/22)

Although Michael Gove claimed that “every single procurement decision" went through an eight-stage-process” the courts found that nearly fifty PPE deals were fast tracked by Conservative ministers, who awarded contracts worth £5bn to companies with political or Whitehall connections.  Four Tory MP’s and three Tory peers were named as “referrers” Michael Gove, Penny Mordant and Esther McVey are said to have personally recommended firms.

Some MP’s have done a lot more than fast-tracking private health care provision. Many of them have actually invested in private health care companies while others are happy to accept financial donations from them.

Wes Streeting, Shadow Health Secretary and the poster boy for Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, is said to have accepted “£22,5000 in private donations from private health firms last year.” (VOX Political: 30/04/23) Other Labour notaries are also said to have financial connections to private health care companies. Keir Starmer has received £157,500, Yvette Cooper has received £295,205, and Dan Jarvis has received £137,500. (Labour Heartlands: Selling Out the NHS: The Shocking Links Between Labour MP’s and Private Healthcare Donations: 17/06/23)

On the Conservative side, The Mirror (21/01/23) reports that Penny Mordant accepted £10,000 from care home firm Renaissance Care, while ex-health minister Steve Brine made £200 an hour giving “strategic advice” to drug firm Signa, before resigning in 2021. Publicly available information tells that that at least 28 Tory MP’s and Peers have had ties to private health and medical groups. Even the former Health Secretary Sajid Javid had share options in a Californian tech company dealing in health sector software.

So, while the NHS slowly disintegrates for want of proper investment and strategic planning, individual MP's and private health care providers reap the rewards of privatisation. Should this in any way be doubt then listen to what  former Conservative Prime Minister John Major had to say as long ago as June 2016:

“The NHS is about as safe from them (Tory Brexiteers) as a pet hamster would be with a hungry python.”

Unfortunately, and to its eternal shame, the same can now be said of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.

[umlewis]

"Lewis. 🤝 Silverstone. A whole lot of memories. Let’s get it. 🔥" - july 9, 2023 📷 @.mercedesamgf1 / instagram

[f1]

W Series: All-female championship enters administration after failing to secure funding

After announcing the W Series would end early in 2022, organisers said they remained positive that funding could be found to secure the championship's future The all-female W Series has entered administration after the single-seater championship failed to secure funding. Alice Powell, who raced in the series from its start in 2019, said it had "inspired" many young female fans and "created" opportunities for drivers. "W Series DID NOT fail," said the 30-year-old Briton.external-link "At the end of the day, W Series got me out racing again, whether you agreed with the championship or not. "I have many great memories from racing in the championship, including my win at the British GP in 2021, which will stay with me forever." Britain's Jamie Chadwick dominated W Series and was crowned champion three times. The 25-year-old is now racing in the United States-based Indy NXT and is also part of Williams' academy. Administrators Evelyn Partners LLP said that most staff had already left the business or been made redundant. Kevin Ley, one of the joint administrators, said: "The news will be upsetting for the company's employees and drivers together with the worldwide supporters of the championship. "The company had been unable to commit to the 2023 race season due to its liquidity position. "The directors had been in discussions with various parties to provide additional funding together with a potential sale of the business. Unfortunately, these discussions did not progress." Ley's joint administrator, Harry Shinners, added: "The joint administrators will explore all available options to allow the W Series to restart in the future. We are seeking expressions of interest in the business and assets of the company." In November, Formula 1 - which has not had a female driver compete in a race since 1976 - launched the F1 Academy, an all-female series aimed at helping women drivers progress through motorsport. The inaugural season features seven rounds with the final race supporting the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, in October. via BBC Sport - Formula 1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/

[like-i-need-a-hole-in-my-head]

Lawyers exit Hong Kong as they face campaign of intimidation

By JAMES POMFRET, GREG TORODE, ANNE MARIE ROANTREE and DAVID LAGUE

Dec. 29, 2022, noon GMT

Anonymous threats sent by text message and email. GPS tracking devices placed under a car, and Chinese “funeral money” sent to an office. Ambushes by reporters working for state-controlled media. Accusations of disloyalty in the press.

These are some of the methods deployed in a campaign of intimidation being waged against lawyers in Hong Kong who take on human rights cases, have criticized a China-imposed national security law or raised alarms about threats to the rule of law. While some of Hong Kong’s leading rights lawyers have been detained in the past two-and-a-half years, many others have become the target of a more insidious effort to cleanse the city of dissent – part of a wider crackdown by the ruling Communist Party on lawyers across China, say activists, legal scholars and diplomats.

Michael Vidler, one of the city’s top human rights lawyers, is among them. Vidler left Hong Kong in April, a couple of months after a judge named his law firm six times in a ruling that convicted four pro-democracy protesters on charges of illegal assembly and possession of unauthorized weapons. Vidler interpreted the judgment as “a call to action” on the city’s national security police “to investigate me,” he told Reuters in an interview last month in Europe. He asked that his location not be disclosed.

Michael Vidler (center), seen here in 2016, was one of the city’s top rights lawyers. In April, he left for Europe after being vilified in articles in state-backed media. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

The event that precipitated his hasty departure, Vidler said, was the appearance of articles in the state-backed media in Hong Kong about him. One said he was the representative of an “anti-China” group. Within days, the British national left his home of three decades.

Vidler tried to make an inconspicuous exit. He sent a suitcase to a friend before flying out. On the day of departure, he met the friend with the suitcase and went to the airport. But on arriving, reporters from state-backed media outlets were waiting.

They “descended on me as a mob at the check-in counter, taking photos of my travel documents,” Vidler said. His last-minute flight plans were known only to his wife, the airline and immigration authorities, he said, which “clearly shows that this information was provided by official sources” to the media.

“This was in my view state-sponsored intimidation and harassment,” said Vidler, whose wife and children later left Hong Kong. A government spokesman called Vidler’s characterization of events “baseless and erroneous.”

Other high-profile departures include former Bar Association chairman Paul Harris. He left his home of decades for England hours after being called in for questioning by national security police. Harris, too, was hounded by reporters from state-backed outlets at the airport as he departed.

Hong Kong was shaken by anti-government protests in 2019, including this dramatic one at the city's famed Lion Rock. The next year, Beijing imposed a draconian national security law. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

The intimidation is having a broad chilling effect, as less prominent lawyers also flee the city. A major catalyst is Hong Kong’s national security law, which was imposed in June 2020, after a wave of anti-government protests shook the city the previous year. The law includes life sentences for vaguely worded offenses such as subversion, secession and collusion with foreign forces. Facing or fearing prosecution under the law, or concerned about threats to Hong Kong’s freedoms, many lawyers and legal academics have quietly departed, mostly to Britain, Australia and North America.

One Hong Kong solicitor who has relocated to England told Reuters that she knew of at least 80 Hong Kong lawyers who had moved to Britain since the security law was imposed in June 2020. Another lawyer, now living in Australia, estimated that several dozen Hong Kong lawyers had moved there.

Some are preparing for the possibility they may never return. Kevin Yam, a commercial solicitor and now vocal critic of Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong, said he took his mother’s ashes with him when he departed for Melbourne in April. “I wanted to be fully prepared, given the way Hong Kong is going,” Yam said. “If I couldn’t ever get back to Hong Kong, I didn’t want to leave her there.”

Since Chinese leader Xi Jinping came to power a decade ago, the ruling Communist Party has intensified its persecution of human rights lawyers and legal activists on the mainland. Prominent rights lawyers there, including Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong, are among hundreds who have been detained, harassed and jailed.

This suppression spread to Hong Kong in the aftermath of the city’s sometimes violent anti-government protests in the second half of 2019. Martin Lee, Margaret Ng and Chow Hang-tung are among the veteran human rights lawyers who have been arrested.

Leading human rights lawyers have been arrested in the crackdown. Among them: Democratic Party founding chairman Martin Lee, seen before his sentencing in 2021. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

City leaders deny that a purge of the profession is under way.

“There is no truth in the alleged harassment or intimidation of ‘human rights’ lawyers” by the government, the Hong Kong Chief Executive’s Office said in response to questions from Reuters. “We dispute and strongly object to your highly suggestive questions and biased, baseless and false accusations against the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL) and law enforcement actions taken by law enforcement agencies.”

In the case of Vidler, the Chief Executive’s Office said, the judge had not suggested “that a lawyer could be guilty of a criminal offense by providing legal services.”

Any actions by law enforcement were “strictly in accordance with the law” and had nothing to do with a person’s “political stance, background or occupation,” the office said.

Asked about Vidler’s alarm over the ruling that cited his law firm, the Judiciary said it “does not comment on court judgments” and that judges do not “make public comments on their judgments.” Any suggestion of “inappropriate conduct” by a judge, it said, could only be made “when supported by solid grounds and evidence. Surmise and innuendo fall far short of what is required.

In Beijing, the State Council Information Office and Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to questions from Reuters.

For this article, Reuters interviewed more than 50 lawyers and legal academics in Hong Kong and abroad.

Hong Kong’s lawyers have been a thorn in Beijing’s side since the former colony’s handover from the British in 1997. As a profession, lawyers have taken to the streets in six silent marches since the handover, in protest at what they perceived as threats to the city’s legal system and freedoms. Lawyers were also prominent figures in the mass public demonstrations against proposed national security laws in 2003, the pro-democracy Occupy Central protest movement in 2014 that paralyzed parts of the city, and the rallies in 2019 following the government’s bid to introduce laws allowing the extradition of criminal suspects for trial on the mainland.

A key target in the campaign of intimidation has been the two legal professional bodies that represent and regulate Hong Kong’s legal fraternity – the Law Society and the Bar Association. Mainland officials have long sought influence over these two influential bodies, according to senior Hong Kong lawyers.

Unlike China or the United States, Hong Kong has a British-style split legal system, in which barristers serve as advocates in courts and solicitors deal directly with clients. When necessary, solicitors hire barristers to represent clients in court or provide specialist legal advice.

Judges wearing wigs at a ceremony to mark the beginning of the new legal year in 2017. Former colony Hong Kong has a British-style legal system. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

The Law Society represents the city’s solicitors and has more than 13,000 members. The Bar Association represents Hong Kong’s 1,600 barristers. By law, the two bodies regulate their professions, with the power to qualify barristers and solicitors. By convention, both recommend who represents the professions on the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, a panel that appoints and promotes judges.

For several weeks last year, a hotly contested election for the Law Society’s governing council became the arena in which the intimidation campaign played out. The target: a group of four candidates, the so-called “liberals,” who believed the Law Society should take a stand on issues including freedom of speech, judicial independence and the rule of law. They were opposed by a group of candidates, the so-called “professionals,” who believed the body should focus more narrowly on its role in regulating solicitors while expanding business ties with the mainland.

The “liberals” already held seven seats on the 20-member council. If they prevailed among the city’s solicitors, they would be in the majority.

A barrage of hostile coverage by pro-Beijing media outlets in Hong Kong and official pressure was unleashed on the liberal group.

In the days leading up to the August election, the Hong Kong leader at the time, Carrie Lam, issued a warning at a news conference: If the Law Society got involved in politics, the government would consider cutting ties with the body. The threat implied that the Law Society would lose its role as part of the administration of justice in the city, multiple lawyers in the city told Reuters. The People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party, called on the Law Society not to become a “politicized group.”

In the weeks ahead of the election, Reuters tallied more than 30 articles and editorials attacking the liberal candidates in pro-Beijing media outlets in Hong Kong. They were accused of being “independence advocates” for Hong Kong and having “ulterior political goals.”

At the same time, at least one member of the liberal group was receiving anonymous threats. Three days before the election, Jonathan Ross, a commercial lawyer, announced publicly he was pulling out of the race, citing personal risks. Ross told Reuters he had received anonymous threats via WhatsApp.

Henry Wheare, a solicitor specializing in intellectual property law who was one of the liberal candidates, said he didn’t receive any threats but that the media allegations leveled at him and the other liberals were a “complete lie.” Another member of the group, Denis Brock, a commercial lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment.

It is unclear if the pressure swayed the city’s solicitors, but on August 24, the liberal ticket was soundly defeated. All five lawyers in the professionals group were elected, giving them a clear majority on the council.

Former Bar Association Chairman Paul Harris, seen here on the Bar’s website, also left the city.

Law Society President C.M. Chan said all elections for the body’s governing council, including the 2021 election, were conducted “in a fair and transparent manner.” The Law Society, he said in response to questions from Reuters, “has spoken up in the past and will continue to speak up in future to defend the rule of law and to uphold the integrity and independence of our judiciary.”

The Bar Association, which traditionally has been more outspoken on rule-of-law issues, faced even more intense criticism by Chinese officials and the state-controlled media. One target of the pressure was Harris, its chairman and a veteran human rights lawyer.

Before he became head of the Bar, Harris had been vocal on social media. “China’s determination to crush Hong Kong is a sign of weakness, not strength,” he tweeted a month before the National Security Law was imposed. “The regime knows it is illegitimate and unpopular and the contagion of criticism is spreading. But being weak is likely to make it even more cruel than before, if that is possible.”

After the law was imposed, Harris tweeted again on July 1: “I, a Hong Kong permanent resident and British citizen, can now be seized in the street by Mainland agents, taken to the Mainland and never heard of again, with no legal redress.”

After becoming Bar chairman in January 2021, Harris was more restrained in his criticism of the authorities. But shortly after he was elected, he held a press conference where he made relatively restrained criticism of the national security law. He said he hoped to “explore” if there was any chance the government would agree to some “modifications” that would make the law consistent with Hong Kong’s existing laws and legal protections.

Harris’ departure was given extensive coverage in the pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po. Source: Wen Wei Po website

Beijing unleashed a barrage of criticism. China’s top representative body in Hong Kong, the liaison office, accused Harris of unprofessional conduct, personal arrogance and ignorance. The office said the security law could not be challenged.

In April last year, then-city Chief Executive Lam threatened to intervene in the Bar Association if there were “instances or complaints about the Bar not acting in accordance with Hong Kong’s law.” In August, the People’s Daily described the Bar as a “running rat.”

Under sustained criticism, Harris didn’t seek a second term as Bar chairman when his term ended in January this year. Nevertheless, a few months later, on March 1, he was summoned to a police station and interviewed by national security police. Within hours of his interrogation, Harris left Hong Kong for England, where he now resides. Photographers and reporters from pro-Beijing newspapers were waiting for him when he arrived at Hong Kong airport that evening. One of the outlets published a video of his departure.

The Bar Association did not respond to questions from Reuters.

Asked about the campaign of intimidation against lawyers, including the cases of Vidler and Harris, the Hong Kong police said the department did “not comment on individual cases.” Carrie Lam and the liaison office did not respond to requests for comment.

“After they disqualified me, it was very clear the writing was on the wall.”

Barrister and former lawmaker Dennis Kwok. He says he received threats – including Chinese “funeral money” that was sent to his office – before abruptly leaving in 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Harris’s exit was a clear message to his fellow barristers, said Eric Lai, a legal academic who left Hong Kong in 2020. “It shows that if you openly disagree with the authorities, you will be harassed, not just by the media, but also by the authorities,” said Lai, now a non-resident fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law in Washington, D.C.

The pressure has worked. Once ready to challenge the authorities on legal issues, the Bar Association has fallen silent on the national security law’s radical reshaping of Hong Kong’s legal and political system, according to lawyers and human rights campaigners. The association said nothing about the circumstances of Harris’ departure.

A review of press releases published on the Bar Association website shows that since January this year, the Bar has made no critical comments on the national security law. The law has been widely condemned by international legal bodies and rights groups including the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

“The Bar Association used to be critical of government actions, issuing statements on legal reforms and other legal issues,” said longtime Hong Kong human rights activist Patrick Poon, now a visiting researcher at the Institute of Comparative Law at Meiji University in Tokyo. “Nowadays you don’t see those statements any longer,” said Poon, who left Hong Kong after the security law was introduced.

Lawyers who served in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council have also been targeted.

Barrister and former lawmaker Dennis Kwok told Reuters he received threats before abruptly departing Hong Kong in November 2020. He said he is now working at a boutique law firm he set up in New York and is a senior research fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School.

A prominent pro-democracy activist, Kwok was hit with sustained criticism from mainland authorities and pro-Beijing figures for his role in employing a filibuster to paralyze the city’s Legislative Council and block legislation opposed by pro-democracy lawmakers. He was also denounced for meeting top U.S. officials and lawmakers on a visit to Washington in early 2019.

Former lawmaker Kwok says this GPS device, with a SIM card, was found planted under his car. REUTERS/Handout/Dennis Kwok

In mid-2020, Kwok found GPS tracking devices under his car “twice in one week,” he said. He provided Reuters with a picture of one of the devices – a small, black rectangular case containing a SIM card to relay positioning data to another device.

Threats were delivered to his office, he said. On one occasion, Chinese “funeral money,” fake paper money sometimes burned by the graveside in a folk tradition, was sent to his office with a note, Kwok recalled. “‘You will be needing these very soon,’ the note read,” he said.

In November 2020, Kwok and three other pro-democracy lawmakers were ousted from the Legislative Council after China’s parliament ruled that sitting members could be disqualified if deemed a threat to national security. That month, Kwok quietly slipped out of Hong Kong. He said articles in the pro-Beijing press, calling for his arrest and accusing him of being a foreign agent, also spurred him to leave.

“After they disqualified me,” he said of the Chinese parliament’s move to oust him, “it was very clear the writing was on the wall.”

Police officers escorting a van carrying a suspect charged with violating the national security law in July 2020. The law has been a major catalyst driving lawyers out of the city. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Legal Exodus

By James Pomfret, Greg Torode, Anne Marie Roantree and David Lague

Photo editing: Edgar Su

Art direction: Eve Watling

Edited by Peter Hirschberg

[mediamonarchy]

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[lewishamiltonarchives]

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Great Britain with Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari and Germany at the Australian Gp 2019