CONFIDENTIAL
8.
on
Public Utilities
Executive and
formed by
Legislative
The standing panel
Unofficial Members of the
Councils (UMELCO) has held 2 recent public sessions on
Daya Bay, at which it questioned JVC engineers; Hong Kong
has described the sessions as "tough and aggressive" and
has said that some members of the UMELCO panel are
unconvinced
answers to their questions
at the engineers'
on safety. The most recent (4 July) panel session was
attended by Miss Lydia Dunn, the Senior Unofficial Member
of LEGCO; the Panel's chairman is Ms Maria Tam (both are
also members of EXCO). After this meeting the Panel
decided to organise an independent investigation into
safety of nuclear plans (including visits before
end-August to Western Europe, North America and Japan) to
see countries with operational nuclear plants as well as those with projects in hand and those who have cancelled
projects (eg the Nordic countries ).
The Japanese
Consul-General in Hong Kong has already invited the Panel
to visit nuclear plants in Japan. We and the French are
encouraging EdF to invite the Panel
visit France (see
para 9 below).
Speakers
sign sign any
9. The Hong Kong Government considers that suggestions
that it should seek to have the project suspended until
the community can be assured about safety are unlikely to
gather momentum unless they come to be supported by LegCo
or UMELCO. LegCo is to discuss the subject in an
adjournment debate on 16 July: the strength of hostility to the project in LegCo is uncertain at present.
in the debate may call for the JVC not to
contracts until Hong Kong people are satisfied as to the
project's safety. (The ma in contracts with GEC and Framatome are due to be signed in August/September, though
this timetable may slip). It is also possible that a member of LegCo will table a motion asking the Governor to
convey to HMG the Council's concerns about Daya Bay; this would put the Hong Kong Government in severe difficulties.
CONFIDENTIAL
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