EXTRANCHECK: PRE LICENSE CHECK: TRACE ELEMENTS SECTION,

UNCLAS HONG KONG 000179 USDOC FOR 532/OEA/MNICKSON/ADYSON/TWILLIS/EHOLLAND USDOC FOR 3132 FOR FCS/OIO REGIONAL DIRECTOR PATRICK SANTILLO BICE FOR OFFICE OF STRATEGIC INVESTIGATIONS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: BMGT BEXP HK ETRD ETTC SUBJECT: EXTRANCHECK: PRE LICENSE CHECK: TRACE ELEMENTS SECTION, GOVERNMENT OF HONG KONG LABORATORY REF: A) D409681 B) USDOC 00092 ¶1. Unauthorized disclosure of the information provided below is prohibited by Section 12C of the Export Administration Act. ¶2. At the direction of the Office of Enforcement Analysis (OEA) of the USDOC Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS),Export Control Officer Philip Ankel (ECO) conducted a pre-license check (PLC) at the Trace Elements Section, Government of Hong Kong Laboratory, 88 Chung Hau Street, Homantin, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The item in question is an Agilent 7500cx ICP-MS. This item is classified under export control classification number (ECCN) 3A233 and is controlled for nuclear nonproliferation (NP) reasons. ¶3. The Hong Kong Laboratory, Trace Elements Section, was established in 2003 to centralize all human and physical resources for the determinations of trace elements within the Hong Kong Government Laboratory. The Trace Elements Section mainly provides analytical support to the Environmental Chemistry Sections and the Food Safety Sections of the Hong Kong Government Laboratory for elemental analysis. More information can be found at www.govtlab.gov.hk. ¶4. On January 21, 2009, ECO visited the Trace Elements Section and met with Dr. Wai-hong Fung, Chemist, Analytical and Advisory Services Division in the Division's laboratory. He confirmed that the Trace Elements Section ordered the item in question from Agilent's Hong Kong distributor, Tegent Technology as part of a tender process. The new item is being purchased to replace a Perkin Elmer Elan 6100 which is quite old and no longer operating at an optimal level. Mr. Fung stated that the existing Elan 6100 will be traded in as part of the purchase process to Tegent. He also noted that Hong Kong Customs will confirm proper disposition of the existing Perkin Elmer unit since it was imported into Hong Kong under a Hong Kong Strategic Commodities license. Mr. Fung was open and cooperative and provided purchase order and other documentation confirming the purchase. ¶5. ECO notes that Hong Kong government entities typically purchase equipment through a centralized tender process from Hong Kong resellers. This process is an open and transparent process and ECO views it as highly unlikely that items procured by the Hong Kong Government or affiliated entities will be diverted to unauthorized end-uses or end-users. ¶6. Based on the information noted above, ECO believes that the Trace Elements Section is a suitable recipient of U.S. origin controlled technology.