TNAG-2829-FCO40-4082-Hong-Kong-Guangdong-nuclear-power-station--Daya-Bay--China-1993 — Page 126

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4.

Yang said that the Guangdong side appreciated the importance of an agreement for Hong Kong. That was why they had been willing to go beyond the standard provisions of the relevant international conventions in releasing information to Hong Kong on the basis of its concrete needs. But this was also a difficult issue for Guangdong. Confidentiality was necessary to prevent public disorder arising from premature release of information. Ashton said that no-one had a stronger interest than the Hong Kong Government in avoiding public disorder. There was no question that we would release information in an irresponsible way. But Daya Bay was only 50 km from the Hong Kong conurbation. In a real emergency, we would need to take rapid decisions about the actions necessary to protect public health, including the release of appropriate information. There would be no time for debate about whether any particular detail should be treated as confidential. That was why we could not accept a blanket confidentiality clause of the kind proposed.

5. After further discussion on familiar lines, Yang undertook to report our approach to Peking, and to the Guangdong side in the talks. He concluded that confidentiality was a difficult issue of importance to both sides. But his personal view was that it should be possible to find a solution. Ashton agreed: to this end, we would certainly be willing to Look constructively at new ways of meeting the Guangdong side's concerns. It would help in doing so if they could spell out more explicitly the kind of information and circumstances to which they might wish to apply a confidentiality provision.

Comment

6. Yang's response was predictably non-committal: NCNA's role on Daya Bay has essentially been as a postbox for our communications with the Guangdong authorities. But this exchange should at least help to make clear. to the latter that we cannot accept a Chinese veto on what information we make public in an emergency.

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