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JOINT PROTOCOL TO THE TWO EXISTING CONVENTION SYSTEMS. SO FAR
THERE IS LIMITED POLITICAL STEAM BEHIND THESE IDEAS, PARTLY
BECAUSE INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION IS STILL CONCENTRATED ON OTHER,
MORE URGENT, ASPECTS OF CHERNOBYL FOLLOW UP. ANY NEGOTIATIONS
ARE LIKELY TO BE LONG AND COMPLEX AND COULD WELL INVOLVE PRIOR
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT BEING REACHED ON WHAT LEVEL OF
RADIOACTIVITY IN, EG, FOODSTUFFS RESULTING FROM AN ACCIDENT IN A
NEIGHBOURING COUNTRY WOULD TRIGGER OFF A VALID CLAIM.
3.
IT FOLLOWS THAT, EVEN IF THE PROBLEM OF PRINCIPLE WERE
RESOLVED, WE OBVIOUSLY CANNOT ASSUME THAT ANY COMPREHENSIVE
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT ON THIRD PARTY LIABILITY WOULD BE IN
FORCE, AND APPLICABLE TO HONG KONG, BY THE TIME DAYA BAY STARTS
OPERATING. IN ANY CASE, WE RECOGNISE THAT IT WOULD BE HIGHLY
DESIRABLE IN POLITICAL TERMS FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO SAY PUBLICLY
WELL BEFORE THEN THAT THE CHINESE HAD INDICATED THAT IN PRINCIPLE
HONG KONG PEOPLE COULD SEEK REDRESS FOR DAMAGES ARISING FROM AN
ACCIDENT AT DAYA BAY. GIVEN THE DIFFICULTIES LIKELY TO BE
INVOLVED IN ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE GLOBAL REGIME ON NUCLEAR
LIABILITY, IT SEEMS TO US THAT THE ONLY WAY TO SECURE SUCH AN
UNDERTAKING FROM THE CHINESE WOULD BE BY MEANS OF A BILATERAL
UNDERSTANDING, INCLUDING A QUOTABLE STATEMENT. IT WOULD
NATURALLY BE ESSENTIAL TO ENSURE THAT ANYTHING SAID OR AGREED
BILATERALLY WOULD NOT HINDER PROGRESS TOWARDS A MULTILATERAL
REGIME. WITH THIS IN MIND, WE WOULD WISH TO MONITOR CLOSELY ALL
DEVELOPMENTS ON THIS ISSUE BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA.
4.
OUR PRELIMINARY THINKING IS THAT IT WOULD BE BEST TO
PURSUE THE BILATERAL ANGLE, AT LEAST INITIALLY, THROUGH THE
DIPLOMATIC CHANNEL IN PEKING. WE ENVISAGE THAT HMA PEKING WOULD
CALL ON ZHOU PING, IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR BILATERAL CONTACTS ON
DAYA BAY. HE WOULD REFER TO OUR CONTINUING HELPFUL DIALOGUE ON
THE NEED TO REASSURE HONG KONG PEOPLE ABOUT SAFETY AT THE FUTURE
POWER STATION. HE WOULD SAY THAT, WHILST WE DID NOT BELIEVE THAT
AN ACCIDENT AT DAYA BAY WAS AT ALL LIKELY, IT WOULD NEVERTHELESS
REASSURE HONG KONG PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT, IF THE WORST CAME TO THE
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