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Mr Wang's visit to Europe
He
In response to a question from the Governor, Mr Wang said that he had greatly enjoyed his tour of Europe. He had been particularly impressed by West Germany (which he had found more attractive than Paris).
recalled that at the dinner which he had given for the Governor in March
1979 before the Governor's visit to Peking, the Governor had said that
economically there should be no barriers between Guangdong and Hong Kong.
At the time he had been puzzled by the remark. However, during his visit
to West Germany he had gone to a Siemens exhibition showing how 9 European
countries shared the same electricity grid. One could not tell whether country A's electricity came from country B or C. The economies and energy
systems of the West European countries were very closely inter-related. This
was how things should be between Guangdong and Hong Kong. It did not matter
if Hong Kong's electricity came from Shenzhen or vice versa.
Nuclear power
4.
In answer to a question from the Governor, Mr Wang said that China
had decided to build nuclear power stations. These were particularly
important for Guangdong which suffered from a chronic shortage of electricity
and lacked fossil fuel resources. If supplies were available, output from
the Province could be increased by 30% or more without any new building
or increase in manpower. At present 80% of the Province's power came from hydro-electric stations. One difficulty with nuclear power stations was
that they had to run continuously. In West Germany power from nuclear
stations was used during off-peak periods to raise water levels for
hydro-electric stations. This aspect of nuclear power had not yet been
properly appreciated in Guangdong.
5.
Mr Wang did not understand why so many people were worried about
nuclear power stations and thought that these were like atomic bombs.
An article in the Ming Pao newspaper on 6 October on the subject had been
inaccurate. The Governor commented that most people in Hong Kong took a
balanced view of nuclear power. However at this stage the public relations
aspects could best be handled by as little as possible being said. Later,
when there was a specific project and site to discuss, UK experts could be asked to reassure people if necessary. At that stage it might
be useful if a Chinese expert also explained why the project was necessary and desirable. What would matter to people in Hong Kong, besides safety,
was that the electricity would be slightly cheaper from present power stations
He hoped
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