Chinese Reactor Accident

into another Chernobyl, but the response of the authorities in China was
chillingly reminiscent of those dark days in Ukraine. On 16 June, the
Chinese government said that there had been an incident with the fuel rods
at a nuclear plant, but this information took over a week to get out: a
close reminder that authoritarian states repel uncomfortable truths. On 8
June, US authorities were reportedly informed that there was an ‘imminent
radiological event’ at the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong
Province, just 80 miles from Hong Kong. The Chinese safety authorities were
reportedly raising the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside
the plant in order to avoid having to shut it down. The French company who
part-owned the plant, Framatome, needed to obtain a US waiver to obtain the
technical information needed to solve the problem – a problem the Chinese
authorities at the time had not even acknowledged existed. After reports
were broadcast by CNN, Framatome issued a statement saying it was trying to
resolve a ‘performance issue’ at the plant, in which it has a 30 per
cent stake. The Chinese firm, CGN, refused to comment, though the plant
said that everything was ‘normal’. Only on 16 June did the Chinese
government inform the International Atomic Energy Authority that there had
been an issue with some damaged fuel rods. It described the issue as a
common occurrence, which did not trigger safety concerns. It could have
been far worse. The technical details are reassuring, but they were far too
slow to come out. Had this been a wholly-owned Chinese plant, we would
still be completely in the dark. It is chillingly reminiscent not only of
the early days at Chernobyl, but also the beginning of the Covid-19
outbreak. During those early days in Wuhan there was open speculation that
Xi Jinping had finally reached his ‘Chernobyl moment’ – the disaster
that would hasten the demise of a monolithic communist party. Britain has
an especially pressing reason to pay attention to events at the Chinese
power plant. The Chinese and French firms are also collaborating on the
£22 billion Hinkley Point nuclear plant now under construction in
Somerset, which will use the same technology. A second joint project in
Suffolk has yet to begin construction. The Chinese firm is also angling to
build its own reactor at Bradwell in Essex – the first Chinese-designed
plant outside its own borders, with Beijing wanting to widen markets for
its nuclear technology. Allowing the Chinese firm which has close links to
the Communist party to play such a crucial role in such a sensitive part of
Britain’s most critical infrastructure was always foolhardy. It looks
even more so in the light of the CCP’s behaviour at Taishan. The party is
so wilfully lacking in transparency that it should never be in charge of a
nuclear power plant in its own country, let alone on the coast of Britain.
The British government has the power to do something about it. The question
is whether it has the will.

 Spectator 4th July 2021

 https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-taishan-almost-became-china-s-chernobyl