TNAG-1503-FCO40-2061-Guangdong-nuclear-power-station-project-at-Daya-Bay-safety-c-1986 — Page 201

CONFIDENTIAL

9. IT WAS EVIDENT THAT THE LEGCO WAS SPLIT AS TO WHETHER THE

CALL FOR A RECONVENING LEGCO SHOULD BE ENTERTAINED. MR. SZETO WAH

AND MR. LEE YU-TAIN HAD PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WERE IN FAVOUR OF A LEGCO SPECIAL SESSION ON DAYA BAY. TAKING A DIFFERENT VIEW,' MR. S.L. CHEN FELT THAT WHETHER A SPECIAL SESSION WAS NEEDED WOULD DEPEND ON WHETHER THE REPORT BY THE OVERSEAS DELEGATRONS HAD COME UP WITH NEW INFORMATION, AND HIS STAND WAS ECHOED BY MRS. SELPNA CHOW. MR. ANDREW WONG ACCEPTED THAT THERE WAS NO URGENT NEED TO CALL A SPECIAL LEGCO MEETING. HE ALSO CONSIDERED

THAT THE CALL FOR THE GOVERNOR TO HOLD A SPECIAL LEGCO SESSION

MIGHT BE TOO HARD-LINE AN APPROACH. «N HUS OPINION, IF THE GOVERNOR REFUSED TO CALL THE MEETING, IT WOULD LEAD TO CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS. THE ISSUE ALSO GAVE RISE TO A

CONTROVERSY OUTSIDE LEGCO. APART FROM THE JOINT CONFERENCE FOR

SHELVING THE DAYA BAY WHO GAVE THEIR PROMPT SUPPORT TO MARTIN LEE'S

CAMPAIGN, A GROUP OF 47 DB MEMBERS FROM 11 DISTRICTS TEAMED UP TO CALL FOR A LEGCO DEBATE BEFORE THE SIGNING OF CONTRACTS. MR.

STANFORD YUNG, A BLDC MEMBER, HOWEVER SAND IT WAS TOO LATE TO

OPPOSE THE DAYA BAY PROJECT. SOME PAPERS QUOTED A HKU LECTURER,

MR. ALBERT CHAN, AS SAYING THAT LEGCO HAD NO POWER TO REVERSE

EXCO'S DECISION TO SUPPORT THE DAYA BAY PROJECT.

10. THERE WAS CONTINUING INTEREST IN THE HARWELL CONSULTANCY.

IN A BilD TO REASSURE THE PUBLIC, THE TWO LEADING LEFT-WING NEWSPAPERS, TA KUNG PAO AND WEN WEK PAO, CARRIED PROMINENT

REPORTS ON AN INTERVIEW WITH A SENIOR UKAEA OFFICIAL WHO CLARIFIED

THAT THE PHASE ACCIDENT ASSESSMENT REPORT WAS OF A PRELIMINARY

NATURE AND THAT THOSE AREAS WHICH REQUIRED MORE IN-DEPTH STUDY WOULD BE COVERED IN THE PHASE REPORT TO BE PREPARED BY UKAEA.

THE OFFICIAL ALSO STATED THAT THE RISK RATIO OF 1:166 WAS NOT

MENTIONED IN THE REPORT AND WAS OBVIOUSLY A CONJECTURE.

SEPARATELY THE LEFT-WING PAPERS ALSO QUOTED TWO GNP JVC OFFICIALS

AS SAYING THAT THE PHASE REPORT WAS COMPILED ON THE BASIS

OF SOME EXISTING NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS WITHOUT TAKING INTO ACCOUNT

THE ACTUAL SITUATION IN HONG KONG AND DAYA BAY. THEY SAID THAT

THE CHINESE SIDE HAD PROVIDED THE BRITISH AUTHORITIES WITH DETAILED SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON DAYA BAY WHICH SHOULD FORM THE

BASINS OF THE PHASE REPORT. IN THIS CONNECTION, SOME PAPERS REPORTED THE RETURN OF THE TEAM OF HONG KONG OFFICIALS FROM THE

UNITED KINGDOM AFTER DISCUSSING THE CONSULTANCY WITH THE UKAEA

CONSULTANTS. (A PRESS RELEASE ON THE VISHT BY THE HONG KONG TEAM WILL BE ISSUED SHORTLY.) CONFIDENTIAL -4-

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