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10. Mr Renton said that we would be glad to hand over copies of any relevant IAEA documents, even though the Russian report on Chernobyl was so frank about the errors leading up to the accident that it could spread rather than diminish doubt if it was widely distributed in Hong Kong. He would also be glad to
As for supply the delegation with a note on nuclear inspection. Harwell, it was explained that the consultants had been left in no doubt by the FCO of the importance of doing a good job for Hong Kong. They were however engaged by the Hong Kong Government, which was responsible for drawing up their terms of reference.
11.
Q W Lee commented that Daya Bay was an issue which would remain topical in Hong Kong for some years, especially if there was another nuclear accident before the plant was commissioned. Miss Dunn agreed that both the HKG and HMG had to be seen to take on board the fears of Hong Kong people, and to be conveying them to Peking. The Governor added that the construction of Daya Bay was an additional negative element in the minds of those who had doubts about the future of Hong Kong, and was therefore an additional incentive to cut and run. In the years up to 1997, it would be one more recurring problem which would require careful management. He agreed with Miss Dunn that the divisions over Daya Bay had made direct elections less rather than more desirable for much of Hong Kong opinion.
DIRECT ELECTIONS
12. Miss Dunn accepted that constitutional development was an issue for the delegation to discuss with the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, but picked up the Governor's point about direct elections. Only a vocal minority, in her view, wanted them. Most people in Hong Kong did not care. They were more concerned to avoid any but the most gradual of changes. Nevertheless, to exclude direct elections from the 1987 Review would be a political non-starter, since the issue was now a symbol of whether Britain or China was in control of Hong Kong's political development. The business community would consider a 25% directly-elected element in LegCo by 1997 to be an acceptable balance, as discussions in the "57 varieties" group
had demonstrated.
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
13. Mr Renton explained that we were nearing the end of our
We commitment to take an extra 500 refugees from Hong Kong. nevertheless appreciated that the number of arrivals in Hong Kong had been rising and that other recipient countries were increasingly reluctant to take more. At the same time, it was clear that many of those leaving Vietnam as refugees were in fact economic migrants. HMG had therefore decided to approach the Honolulu group countries with a view to considering jointly
The with them how to deal with the economic migrant problem.
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/Minister