POINT5
there is no 'u' in airborne - nor is there a 'me' or a 'we' in airborne without ATC clearance! Technically you are correct in that as a Captain I can get airborne without ATC clearance as 'the final arbiter', however, to do so would be against SOP's and my co-pilot(s) and would leave me open to a charge of endangering the aircraft and its occupants, as well as losing my job and having my licence revoked.
Perhaps at best, the CE crew are guilty of sharp practice and if so, the UKCAA and NATS and HAL will voice their views through HM Government, to the Chinese authority, but things are never as they appear. The routing PVG-LHR via LGW and STN is more like a Chinaman than a googly!