THOSE LIVING FIVE KHLOMETRES AWAY FROM NUCLEAR PLANTS IN FRANCE. MR. YAXLEY WAS ALSO QUOTED AS SAYING THAT THERE WAS A NEED TO OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION FROM GNPJVC BEFORE A CONTINGENCY PLAN CAN BE DRAWN UP FOR HONG KONG. SOME PAPERS ALSO NOTED THAT MR. YAXLEY WOULD WRITE A DETAILED REPORT ON HIS VISIT. (THE STATEMENT MADE BY MR. YAXLEY WAS RECORDED IN OUR TELNO. 2355).
5. THE UMELCO DELEGATIONS TO EUROPE AND THE USA STAYED IN FOCUS. THE MEDHA EXTENSHIVELY REPORTED THAT THE EUROPE-BOUND DELEGATION (COMPRASING MISS MARINA TAM, MR. CHENG HON-KWAN, MR. HILTON CHEONG- LEEN, PROFESSOR POON CHUNG-KWONG AND MR. POON CHI-FAN) WOULD VISIT FRANCE AND WHENNA. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE DELEGATION TO THE USA WOULD ALSO PAY A VISIT TO JAPAN AT THE END OF THEIR TOUR. SIX UMELCO MEMBERS INCLUDING MR. ALLEN LEE, MRS. PAULINE NG, MR HO SA CHU, MR. CHIU HIN-KWONG, MR. RICHARD LAN AND MR. LEE YU-TAN WOULD PROBABLY JOIN THE DELEGATION TO THE USA/JAPAN. MT WAS REPORTED THAT UMELCO MEMBERS JOINING THE DELEGATIONS MET FIVE FIVE LOCAL NUCLEAR EXPERTS (INCLUDING SOME GOVERNMENT OFFICALS IN THEIR PRIVATE CAPACITY) IN THE AFTERNOON OF 24 JULY IN ORDER TO FIND OUT WHAT SORT OF INFORMATION THEY SHOULD COLLECT FROM THEIR TRIPS. HAN THIS CONNECTION, MODERATE COVERAGE WAS GIVEN TO THE VIEW EXPRESSED BY THE EXPERTS THAT THE PRESSURISED WATER REACTOR TO BE USED BY THE DAYA BAY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT WAS ONE OF THE SAFER AND MORE ADVANCED DESIGNS.
6.
THE MEDINA ACCORDED PROMINENT COVERAGE TO THE STATEMENT MADE BY THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ON 23 JULY ANNOUNCING THAT GNPJVC HAD AGREED WITH HIS PROPOSAL FOR RELEASHING TO THE LEGCO MEMBERS THE FEASIBILITY STUDY REPORTS DEALING WITH SITE SELECTION EQUIPMENT STUDY AND SYSTEM DESIGN. THE SUBSEQUENT DISTRIBUTION OF THE FEASIBILITY STUDY REPORTS ON 28 JULY WAS ALSO WIDELY REPORTED. SOME LEGCO MEMBERS (SUCH AS MR. LEE YU-TAN) WERE ASKED BY THE PRESS TO COMMENT ON THEIR REPORTS YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, A FEW HOURS AFTER THE REPORTS WERE DISTRIBUTED. THESE LEGCO MEMBERS TOLD THE PRESS THAT THEY NEEDED SOME TIME TO DIGEST THE REPORTS. IN THE MEANTIME, TVB CLAIMED THAT THEY HAD GOT PARTS OF THE SITE SELECTION REPORT BEFORE THIS WAS MADE AVAILABLE TO THE LEGCO MEMBERS. TVB QUOTED THE REPORT AS SAYING THAT IN THE EVENT OF A NUCLEAR ACCIDENT AT THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, EVEN THE MOST PESSIMISTIC ESTIMATION ON THE EFFECTS TO PEOPLE IN HONG KONG WOULD STILL BE ACCEPTABLE.
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7. SOME LEFT-WING PAPERS GAVE PROMINENT COVERAGE TO AN NCNA NEWS RELEASE FROM PEKING SAYING THAT CHINA (NATIONAL NUCLEAR SAFETY ADMINISTRATION) AND FRANCE (FRENCH NUCLEAR SAFETY COMMITTEE) HAD SIGNED A LETTER OF MANTENT ON CO-OPERATION OF SAFETY APPRAISAL AND PUBLICITY. IT WAS ALSO REPORTED THAT THE STATE COUNCIL HAD APPROVED FOUR NEW REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE SITE SELECTION, DESIGN, PREPARATION AND QUALITY, THE PAPERS HIGHLIGHTED THAT THE REGUL- ATIONS STIPULATED THAT NO APPROVAL SHOULD BE GIVEN FOR A SITE UNLESS ALL SITE-RELATED PROBLEMS WERE SOLVED TECHNICALLY. ACCORDINGLY, THE RISKS TO THE PEOPLE IN THE VICINITY WERE KEPT TO THE
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