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..in..
Daya Bay,
Guangdong province of
China, some 50 kilometres from Hong Kong.
the
People's Republic of
36.
The power
station will be built and operated by a joint
venture company formed in 1985 following an agreement between the
Guangoong Nuclear Investment Company (wholly owned by the Chinese
Ministry of Nuclear Industry) and the Hong Kong Nuclear Investment
Company (wholly owned by the China Light and Power Company of Hong
Kong). The participation of the China Light and Power Company in the project was supported by the Hong Kong Government following an
evaluation of the options for meeting Hong Kong's anticipated future
demand for electricity and some six years of detailed negotiations
on the project's feasibility, construction, operation and management
and financing arrangements.
37.
Before the accident
the Chernobyl nuclear power station,
the Daya Bay project was generally seen as a positive development
which augured well for Hong Kong's future. Inevitably, the events at Chernobyl provoked intense debate in Hong Kong, as elsewhere in
the world, on the safety of nuclear power stations. Public concern
focussed on the proximity of the station to
the Hong Kong and
difficulties of evacuating the Local population should this prove
necessary. Opposition by various pressure groups mounted during the early summer months, culminating in the presentation of a petition
to the Chinese Government claimed to contain one million signatures.
·
38.
The public concern felt
felt in Hong Kong was echoed in a debate
in the Legislative Council on 16 July. In August, two fact-finding delegations of Council members visited Europe, the United States and
Japan to gain better understanding
a
of of nuclear energy and the
safety systems incorporated into the design of plants similar to the one to be built at Daya Bay. A report on their visits was published
on their return, following which members of the delegations were invited to Peking by the Chinese Government to discuss its contents. They were assured by Chinese officials that those observations
the report which would enhance the safety of
of the plant and
technically and economically viable would be accepted. confirming its intention to proceed with the project the Chinese Government further emphasised that it had taken, and would continue
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