TNAG-1501-FCO40-2059-Guangdong-nuclear-power-station-project-at-Daya-Bay-safety-c-1986 — Page 52

AUG 07 '86 14:33 TIBCOOL) HK GOVT

The paper said it had seen the report and the report was bound to upset those seeking assurances about the plant's safety aspects. It said throughout the five-volume report, of which only three would be made available to Legco members, there were few mentions of safety.

The paper also carried a number of stories on Daya Bay in its inside page. One said about 40 Labour Party MPs had signed a House of Commons Motion calling on the British Government to ask the Chinese authorities not to proceed with the nuclear power station at Daya Bay,

The paper's correspondent in London said the motion was tabled by Labour MP, Robert Parry, who would fly to HK this week for talks with those opposed to the project.

The Sunday Post in an editorial said that some time must yet elapse before HK could be confident that sufficient attention had been paid to the safety at Daya Bay,

The Sunday Standard reported in its front page that delegates from the territory-wide anti-nuclear coalition called on the local NCNA office yesterday to express their fears about the Daya Bay nuclear plant.

Monday, July 28: Legco member Szeto Wah, now on a private visit to the United States, said an energy and environmental expert who worked for the US Government had told him that the US Goverment recently discovered that the cost of nuclear power was not necessarily cheaper than that of coal-fuelled energy, Radio-1 and some papers reported.

According to Mr Szeto, the expert said that after 1981, the US Government required all nuclear plants to have evacuation plans for residents nearby. Such measures had pushed up the cost of nuclear power. And because of this, the nuclear plant at Long Island had been shelved.

Regco member Cheung Hon-kau, who had recently provided information on the safety of nuclear plants to Umelco members, said yesterday that there were weaknesses in the design of pressurised water reactors that needed to be improved to reduce chances of human errors, TVB-Jade and some papers reported.

In a function organised by RTHK yesterday, Leg co Unofficial Chiu Hinkwong urged China to shelve the Daya Bay project. He felt that HK people's confidence would be affected if the Chinese authorities insisted upon its policy on the construction of the nuclear plant.

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