SUPPORT TO THE ANTI-DAYA BAY CAMPAIGN. THEY REGRET THAT THE
CAMPAIGN HAD BEEN FACED WITH COUNTER PUBLICITY WITH THE CAMPAIGNERS
BEING LABELLED AS ORGANISING POLITICAL ACTIVITIES AND HAVING
ULTERIOR MOTIVES.
THE NEW ESTABLISHED PRO-NUCLEAR GROUP COMPRISING 113 MEMBERS (FROM DISTRICT BOARDS, URBAN COUNCIL, REGIONAL COUNCIL, REFORM CLUB AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS) CONTINUED WITH THEIR CAMPAIGN. ON 7 AUGUST, THE GROUP DISTRIBUTED LEAFLETS AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS URGING THE PUBLIC NOT TO BE EMOTHAVE ON THE DAYA BAY SSUE. THE GROUP ALSO TOLD THE PRESS THAT THEY WOULD BE SENDING DELEGATES TO STUDY NUCLEAR PLANTS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, HOLLAND AND FRANCE AT THE END OF THIS MONTH. (THE GROUP INCLUDED SOME PRO-LEFT MEMBERS BUT WE WERE NOT AWARE OF ANY PRC MANIPULATION BEHIND THE GROUP). MEANWHILE, THE MEDIA EXTENSIVELY REPORTED THAT SOME ACADEMICS AND NUCLEAR EXPERTS INCLUDING NOBEL PRIZE WINNING PHYSICIST PROFESSOR YANG CHEN-MING AND DR. VICTOR SIT OF THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY HAD MADE SOME POSITIVE STATEMENTS ON NUCLEAR
ENERGY AND THE DAYA BAY PROJECT.
5. THE UMELCO DELEGATHON TO EUROPE, THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN STAYED ON FOCUS. THE ITINERARIES OF THE DELEGATIONS AND THE SPEECHES MADE BY THE UMELCO MEMBERS WERE EXTENSIVELY REPORTED. THE MEDIA HIGHLIGHTED THAT THE UMELCO DELEGATHON TO EUROPE HAD VIISITED THE GRAVELINES STATION AND HAD MADE SEVERAL FINDINGS. FIRSTLY, THERE WERE TWO DOORS TO THE NUCLEAR REACTORS AND THE KEYS TO THESE DOORS WERE KEPT BY AN APPOINTED OFFICIAL. THIS WAS CONTRARY TO AN ASSERTHON BY A CANADIAN NUCLEAR EXPERT, WALTER PATTERSON THAT ACCESS TO A REACTOR WAS UNOBSTRUCTED. SECONDLY, FRANCE POSSED MORE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY IN THE USE OF PRESSURISED WATER REACTORS AS THE COUNTRY HAD 34 SUCH REACTORS AND 30 YEARS' EXPERIENCE MIN USING THEM.
THIRDLY, MEASURES AT THE CONTROL ROOM HAD BEEN IMPROVED FOLLOWING THE THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR ACCIDENT.
FOURTHLY, THE FRENCH AUTHORITIES TOOK THE INITIATIVE TO PROMOTE CHOVIC EDUCATION AND ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO VISIT NUCLEAR PLANTS AND THIS HAD SUCCESSFULLY REMOVED PUBLIC FEARS.
PROMINENT COVERAGE WAS ALSO GIVEN TO THE VST TO THE BUGEY TRAINING CENTRE. MISS MARIA TAM, THE LEADER OF THE UMELCO GROUP, WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT THERE WERE FEW OBJECTIONS WHEN THE BUGEY PLANT WAS FIRST MOOTED IN 1965 BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THERE FELT THAT THE NUCLEAR POWER STATION WOULD BRING THEM PROSPERITY AND JOBS. MISS TAM ALSO CLARIFIED THAT THE ACCIDENT AT THE BUGEY PLANT MN 1984 (WHICH WAS ALLEGED TO BE A NEAR DISASTER ON THE SCALE OF THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT) HAD BEEN DISCUSSED WITH THE JOINT VENTURE COMPANY BEFORE THE DELEGATION LEFT FOR EUROPE.
2 CONFIDENTIAL
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