RESTRICTED
VII
DAYA BAY NUCLEAR POWER STATION
35.
An issue of major public concern to the people of Hong Kong
in 1986 was the proposed construction of a nuclear power station at
Daya Bay, in
Guangdong province of the People's Republic
China, some 50 kilometres from Hong Kong.
36.
between the
The power station will be built and operated by a joint
venture company formed in 1985 following an agreement
Guangdong Nuclear Investment Company (wholly owned by the Chinese
Ministry of Nuclear Industry) and the Hong Kong Nuclear Investment
Company (wholly owned by the China Light and Power Company of Hong
Kong) The participation of the China Light and Power Company in
the project was endorsed by the Hong Kong Government following an
evaluation of the options for meeting Hong Kong's anticipated future demand for electricity and some six years of detailed negotiations
on the project's feasibility, construction, operation and management
and financing arrangements.
37.
in
Before the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station,
the Daya Bay project was generally seen as a positive development
which augured well for Hong Kong's future Inevitably, the events
at Chernobyl provoked intense debate in Hong Kong, as elsewhere
the world, on the safety of
nuclear power stations. Public concern
focussed on the proximity of the station to Hong Kong and the
difficulties of evacuating the local population should this prove necessary. Opposition by various pressure groups mounted during the early summer months, culminating in the presentation of a petition to the Chinese Government claimed to contain one million signatures.
38.
to
a
felt concern
in Hong Kong was echoed
in
a
debate
the
The public in the Legislative Council on 16 July In August, two fact-finding delegations of Council members visited Europe, the United States and
Japan
gain
better understanding of nuclear
and energy safety systems incorporated into the design of plants similar to the one to be built at Daya Bay A report on their visits was published
on their return,
of following which members
the delegations were
invited to Peking by the Chinese Government to discuss its contents.
They were assured by Chinese officials that those observations in
RESTRICTED
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.