GRS 700
CONFIDENT BAL
FM HONG KONG
PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 2162
OF 070845Z JULY 86
CONFIDENTIAL
HUCCC 166/1.
RECEIVED.
14 JUL 1986
INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, PÈKING, RARES
Non Taken
226
COPY
NUCLEAR SAFETY: CHINA
171
FURTHER TO MY TELNO. 1949, THE DAYA BAY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT REMAINED TO BE A MAJOR TALKING POINT HERE. A NUMBER OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ARE WORTH REPORTING AS SUMMARISED IN PARAGRAPHS
2 TO 6 BELOW.
1
2. THE JOINT CONFERENCE FOR SHELVING THE DAYA BAY PLANT' CONTINUED THEIR CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE DAYA BAY PLANT. THEY CLAIMED THAT THEY HAD ALREADY SECURED SIGNATURES FROM MORE THAN 120,000 PEOPLE AND WOULD BE SENDING MORE PEOPLE TO THE STREET TO COLLECT SIGNATURES. THE JOINT CONFERENCE ALSO DISPUTED THE STATEMENT MADE BY THE ENGINEERS OF THE GUANGDONG NUCLEAR POWER JOINT VENTURE COMPANY AT THEIR MEETING WITH THE UMELCO PANEL ON PUBLIC UTILITIES ON 27 JULY THAT ANY NUCLEAR LEAKAGE FROM THE PLANT WOULD NOT AFFECT PEOPLE LIVING OUTSIDE THE 10-KILOMETRE RADIUS OF THE SITE. ON THEIR INVITATION, A BRITISH NUCLEAR PHYSICHST, MR. WALTER PATTERSON, CAME TO HONG KONG ON 3 JULY AND GAVE A PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE DANGERS INHERENT ON THE DAYA BAY PROJECT, AS REPORTED MAN MY TELNO. 2124. MR. PATTERSON MET THE UMELCO GROUP ON 5 JULY, BUT HE APPARENTLY HAD FAILED TO CONVINCE THE UMELCO MEMBERS WHO WERE CRITICAL OF THE FACT THAT HIS ARGUMENTS WERE NOT BACKED UP BY ANY DATA.
3. THE OPEN SESSION OF THE UMELCO PANEL ON PUBLIC UTILITIES WITH A DELEGATION FROM THE GUANGDONG NUCLEAR POWER JOINT VENTURE COMPANY WAS HELD IN THE MORNING OF 4 JULY. QUESTIONS FROM UMELCO PANELISTS WERE HARD-HITTING AND SOME OF THE PANEL MEMBERS SEEMED UNCONVINCED THAT THE PLANT WAS SAFE AND THAT THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF A NEED FOR AN EVACUATION PLAN BEYOND THE 10-KM RADIUS OF THE SITE. SHORTLY AFTER THE MEETING, THE UMELCO MEMBERS ANNOUNCED THAT MANY OF THEM, FAR FROM ASSURED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE PLANT, WOULD EMBARK ON A FACT-FINDING MISSION TO COUNTRIES WITH EXPERIENCE IN NUCLEAR ENERGY. * HAD WRITTEN TO YOU SEPARATELY ON THE UMELCO SESSION AND THEIR PROPOSED FACT-FINDING MISSION.
4. THE REACTION BY THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES WAS ACCORDED PROMINENT COVERAGE BY THE MEDIA. THE SETTING UP OF AN EXPERT COMMITTEE ON NUCLEAR SAFETY TO SUPERVISE THE SAFETY STANDARDS OF THE DAYA BAY PROJECT WAS WELL RECEIVED. THE MEDIA PICKED UP MR. JHANG SHENG JHA'S RECENT INTERVIEW WITH THE TVB IN WHICH HE REVEALED THAT H'T WAS UNLIKELY THAT HONG KONG WOULD REFUSE TO BUY POWER FROM DAYA BAY
CONFIDENTIAL
/AND