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INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKMIS VIENNA, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
INFO PRIORITY BTC HONG KONG
DAYA BAY NUCLEAR POWER STATION: CROSS BORDER TALKS
Summary
1. In advance of the cross border talks on Daya Bay nuclear safety on 20-21 September, we underline our concerns about confidentiality, and our desire for rapid progress.
Detail
2. In preparation for the forthcoming round of cross border talks, we have been considering how best to dispel any remaining illusions on the Guangdong side that we might eventually sign up to a blanket confidentiality provision of the kind that they have been proposing in recent months. With this aim we though it would be useful to go over our concerns with the NCNA.
3.
Acting Political Adviser therefore spoke to the Acting Head of NCNA Foreign Affairs Department. He explained that we wanted the Guangdong side to be as clear as possible about our objectives for the talks. Now that radiological release had become a theoretical possibility, agreement was urgent. But we needed agreement on terms that would convince the community of our ability to carry out fully our responsibilities for public safety. This had long been an emotive issue in Hong Kong, viz the over 1 million signatures on
The the petition in 1986 for the plant to be shelved or moved. plant was an excellent example of cross border co-operation, and when on stream would contribute greatly to prosperity both in Hong Kong and Guangdong. It was therefore essential that public confidence in it be maintained. Unfortunately,
Unfortunately, without an agreement, or with a flawed agreement which prevented us from fully protecting public health, the carefully nurtured confidence of the Hong Kong community in the plant might decline or even collapse. Both sides had a strong interest in preventing this.
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