GRs 200 CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 2534
OF 06080OZ AUGUST 86
Confidential
Hell 166/1
RECEIVED IN
7 AUG 1986
399
COPY DIST ?
«NFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, PARIS, DTH
INFO IMMEDIATE DEPT OF ENERGY.
X
PA
Action Taken
FURTHER TO OUR TELNO. 2455, THE DAYA BAY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT STAYED IN THE SPOTLIGHT DURING THE WEEK ENDING 4 AUGUST. THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS ARE DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPHS 2 TO 10 BELOW.
JOINT
2. FOLLOWING A RECENT CALL BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CONFERENCE FOR SHELVING THE DAYA BAY PLANT' ON THE LOCAL NCNA OFFICE, THE HONG KONG DAILY NEWS REPORTED THAT AN AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE CLOSE TO NCNA HAD REVEALED THAT CHINA WELCOMED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ANTI DAYA BAY GROUP TO GO TO PEKING. THE SOURCE SAID THAT THE GROUP WOULD BE GIVEN A WARM RECEPTION AND ARRANGEMENTS WOULD
BE MADE FOR THEM TO VISIT NUCLEAR REACTORS AND TO MEET NUCLEAR EXPERTS IN CHINA. IT WAS HOWEVER NOTED THAT THE JOINT CONFERENCE DID NOT READILY TAKE UP THE 'OFFER'. INDEED, THERE WERE INDICATIONS THAT THEY HAD SECOND THOUGHTS ON THEIR PROPOSED TRIP TO PEKING TO
PRESENT THE ONE MILLION SIGNATURES. WHEN COMMENTING ON THE NEWS
REPORT THAT THE SIGNING OF THE CONTRACTS MIGHT BE ADVANCED (SEE PARA. 8 BELOW), THE CHIEF SPOKESMAN FOR THE JOINT CONFERENCE, MR. FUNG CHI-WOOD, SAID THAT HE WOULD NOT GO TO PEKING TO REFLECT HONG KONG PEOPLE'S CONCERN HF THE REPORT WAS TRUE. MEANWHILE, THE JOINT CONFERENCE CONTINUED TO FIGHT THEIR BATTLE BY QUERYING THE VALIDITY OF THE FEASIBILITY STUDY REPORTS. THE JOINT CONFERENCE STRESSED THAT THE FEASIBILITY STUDY REPORTS WERE OUTDATED, THE RADIOACTIVITY STANDARDS ADOPTED N THE FEASIBILITY STUDY WERE LOWER THAN THOSE ADOPTED IN US AND THE STUDY HAD NOT TAKNE INTO THE POSSIBILITY OF CONTAMINATION OF FOOD AND WATER IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. AS PART OF THE ANT DAYA BAY TACTICS, THE JOINT CONFERENCE ALSO HANDED SOME QUESTIONS TO THE UMELCO AND ASKED UMELCO MEMBERS TO HAVE THEM ANSWERED AFTER THEIR FACT-FINDING
VISITS.
3. THE MEDIA REPORTED THAT TWO OF THE LEGCO MEMBERS, MR. SZETO WAH AND MR. MARTIN LEE, HAD VSTED SOME OVERSEAS NUCLEAR PLANTS. T WAS NOTED THA MR. SZETO WAH HAD BEEN TOLD BY AN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT THAT THE US GOVERNMENT RECENTLY DISCOVERED THAT THE COST OF NUCLEAR POWER WAS NOT NECESSARILY CHEAPER THAN THAT OF COAL FUELLED ENERGY. HE HAD ALSO BEEN INFORMED THAT THE NUCLEAR PROJECT AT LONG ISLAND WAS SHELVED BECAUSE OF THE HIGH COST INVOLVED IN DESIGNING THE IMPLEMENTING THE EVACUATION PLAN. SEPARATELY, THE MEDHA REPORTED THAT MR. MARTEN LEE RETURNED TO HONG KONG ON 29 JULY AFTER VISITING SOME NUCLEAR PLANT FACILITIES IN BRITAN AND HE WOULD BRIEF HMS UMELCO COLLEAGUES BEFORE TALKING TO THE PRESS. WE WERE INFORMED THAT MR. ROBERT PARRY MP. WHO
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