TNAG-1507-FCO40-2065-Guangdong-nuclear-power-station-project-at-Daya-Bay-safety-c-1986 — Page 139

NOV 06 86 16:18 TIBCOOU) HK GOVT

A round-up of media reports and commentaries

on the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station

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Thursday, October 23: The chairman of the General Electric Company, James Prior, arrived in HK on Tuesday on a four-day visit, Radio-3 reported.

Mr Prior would meet the Financial Secretary, Piers Jacoba and the Daya Bay project was certain to be discussed because GEC had just won a $2 500 million contracts to supply turbine generators to the plant.

Friday, October 24: In reply to a letter sent to the Prime Minister last month by an anti-nuclear group in HK, Friends of the Earth, the FCO stated that the British Government had attached importance to its responsibility for the safety of HK people in regard to the Daya Bay plant, Ming Pao, Sing Tao Jih Pao and Wen Wei reported. Therefore, it would maintain contacts with the Chinese authorities on the question of nuclear safety.

In reply to a letter by the same group, the HK Government reiterated remarks made by the Financial Secretary at a Legco adjournment debate on July 16, Ming Pao reported.

In another development, the chairman of the General Electric Company, James Prior, said his company had not exerted any pressure on the British Government to press the HK Government to reject the demands by anti-nuclear lobbyists in HK, Radio-3 reported this morning.

He said Daya Bay was of enormous importance to Britain. He

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equipment it supplied to the Castle Peak power station in HK did not have a superb performance.

According to some papers, Mr Prior rejected suggestions by the anti-nuclear coalition in HK that his company was vulnerable to technical problems in the Daya Bay project as this was the first time his company was working with the French companies in the project.

Saturday, October 25: Visiting chairman of the General Electric Company, James Prior, said on RTHK's "News Plus" yesterday that there was no political dimension to the GEC's successful bid for a major contract for the Daya Bay project as it was purely a commercial deal.

Mr Prior denied that the Joint Declaration and the Sino-British negotiation on KK's future had any direct link with the talks on the Daya Bay project. Nevertheless, he admitted that until the negotiations on HK were completed, there was not much chance of any major negotiations on trade with China taking place.

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