TNAG-1502-FCO40-2060-Guangdong-nuclear-power-station-project-at-Daya-Bay-safety-c-1986 — Page 143

GRS 1450

CONFIDENTIAL

FM HONG KONG

TO HMMEDIATE FCO

TELNO 2622

OF 1402OOZ AUGUST 86

CONFIDENTIAL

166/1

434

TOP COPY

-AUG 1986 Q DIST?

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, PARIS, DTH- #NFO IMMEDIATE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY..

NUCLEAR SAFETY: CHANA

399

FURTHER TO OUR TELNO. 2534, THE DAYA BAY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT REMAINED TO BE A MAJOR LOCAL CONCERN DURING THE WEEK ENDING 11 AUGUST. THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS ARE DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPHS 2 TO 8 BELOW.

2. THE JOINT CONFERENCE FOR SHELVING THE DAY BAY PLANT'

REMANNED ACTHIVE. FOLLOWING A CALL ON THE LOCAL NCNA OFFICE, ARRANGEMENTS HAD NOW BEEN MADE FOR 12 OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF

THE JOINT CONFERENCE TO GO TO PEKING ON 18 AUGUST TO DISCUSS THE

DAYA BAY PROJECT WITH CHINESE OFFICIALS AND TO PRESENT THE ONE

MILLION SIGNATURES THEY HAD COLLECTED TO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT. TWO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JOINT CONFERENCE, MR. FUNG CHI-WOOD AND MR. WAN SHEK-LUN, HAD ALSO ASKED FOR A MEETING WITH SES N THE AFTERNOON OF 12 AUGUST. MEANWHILE, THE VISITING BRITISH MP,

MR. ROBERT PARRY, CONTINUED THE CALL FOR THE SHELVING OF THE DAYA

BAY PROJECT. HE TOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE ON 7 AUGUST THAT THE

BRITISH GOVERNMENT SHOULD ASK CHINA TO EITHER RELOCATE THE DAYA

BAY PLANT FURTHER AWAY FROM HONG KONG OR TO USE THE SITE FOR A

COAL OR OIL-FIRED POWER STATION IN THE WAKE OF STRONG OPPOSITION

HAN HONG KONG,

THE MEDIA NOTED THAT A GROUP OF 17 UMELCO AND DB MEMBERS HAD

CONDUCTED A PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY ON THE DAYA BAY PROJECT. A

TOTAL OF 2800 HONG KONG RESIDENTS WERE MNTERWIEWED. OF THEM 70

PER CENT WERE OPPOSED THE BUILDING OF THE DAYA BAY PLANT, 15

PER CENT FELT THAT THE PROJECT SHOULD BE SHELVED AND ONLY 10 PER

CENT WERE IN FAVOUR OF THE PROJECT.

3. ALTHOUGH THE ANTINUCLEAR GROUPS STILL FOUGHT HARD, THERE

WERE INDICATIONS THAT THE ANTI-DAYA BAY LOBBY WAS LOSING SOME

POPULAR SUPPORT BECAUSE OF NTS SCARE TACTICS AND THE SUSPH CHON

THAT SOME CAMPAIGNERS WERE TRYING TO MAKE POLITICAL CAPITAL OUT

OF THE AFFAIR. IN THIS CONNECTION, MING PAO EVENING NEWS NOTED

THAT THERE WERE RUMOURS THAT THE LEGCO UNOFFICIAL, MR MARTIN LEE,

HAD SOFTENED HIS ANTHIDAYA BAY ATTITUDE. IT WAS SAID THAT MR. LEE

WAS CONVINCED BY A RESPECTED NUCLEAR EXPERT ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE PRESSURISED WATER REACTORS DURING HIS RECENT VISIT TO THE

UNITED KINGDOM. NEVERTHELESS, A NUMBER OF NEWSPAPERS, NOTABLY

HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL AND MING PAO, CONTINUED TO PLEDGE

CONFIDENTIAL

/SUPPORT