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HICLC 160/1
CONFIDENTIAL
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COPY
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 2270
OF 150450Z JULY 86
INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, PEKING
OUR TELNO 2258
261
NUCLEAR SAFETY: CHINA
THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE TWO UMELCO DELEGATIONS TO OVERSEAS NUCLEAR PLANTS BECAME MORE EVIDENT. THE STATEMENTS MADE BY THE SENIOR MEMBERS ORGANISHING THE VISITS AND THE DISSENTING COUNCILLORS WERE EXTENSIVELY REPORTED BY THE MEDIA. THE GIST OF THESE REPORTS IS DESCRIBED BELOW.
2. SOME ELECTED UMELCO MEMBERS INCLUDING SZETO WAH, MARTIN LEE, PANG CHUN-HOK, JACKIE CHAN AND PAULINE NG HAD EXPRESSED THE VIEW THAT THE DELEGATES SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PRE-SELECTED AND THAT THE CRITERIA FOR SELECTING THE DELEGATES (NAMELY, PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH, FAMILIARITY WITH THE DAYA BAY ISSUE AND A KNOWLEDGE OF SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT) WEPE UNFAIR AND UNREASONABLE. SOME UNNAMED UMELCO MEMBERS LABELLED THE SEVEN DELEGATES (1.E. MARHA TAM, ALLEN LEE, CHENG HON-KWAN, DR DANIEL TSE, DR CHIU HIN-KWONG, PROFESSOR POON CHUNG-KWONG AND HO SAI-CHU) AS ''LOYALISTS'. THEY SUSPECTED THAT THE OVERSEAS DELEGATIONS WERE PART OF A PLOT TO DIVERT THE PUBLIC'S ATTENTION FROM THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONTINGENCY PLANS. MARTIN LEE AND SZETO WAH SAID THAT THEY HAD ALREADY DECIDED NOT TO JOINT THE UMELCO DELEGATIONS BUT WOULD CONSIDER VISITING OVERSEAS NUCLEAR PLANTS AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE.
3. TWO MEMBERS .E. MARTINE LEE AND CONRAD LAM SIGNED UP YESTERDAY AT THE SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED BY THE JOINT CONFERENCE FOR THE SHELVING OF THE DAYA BAY NUCLEAR PLANT.
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