BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK ON

UNCLAS HONG KONG 000130 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC HK SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK ON APPLICATION 050197283 REF: 09 SECSTATE 131175 ¶1. (SBU) Per reftel request, post conducted a pre-license check on application 050197283 for the export to Hong Kong of an infrared camera which is part of an infrared microscope. In post's assessment, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, which is under the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's (HKSARG) Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD),is a reliable recipient of reftel item. ¶2. (SBU) On January 15, Post's Blue Lantern Coordinator (BLC) and Economic Officer met with Mr. Lai Wing-fai, Assistant Curator, and Ms. Tang Man-wai, Assistant Curator II (Conservation),from the Central Conservation Section at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in the Sha Tin district. The Hong Kong Heritage Museum will be using reftel item. Mr. Lai provided BLC a copy of the HKSARG purchasing documents for reftel item, including brochures from manufacturer Bruker Optics. Mr. Lai's office will use reftel item to analyze organic material in the museum's collection, including paint. He added that museum staff needed to understand the nature of materials to employ proper preservation techniques. This is in line with the stated purpose of using reftel item, i.e., to carry out non-invasive microanalysis of museum artwork and collections in order to create a museum conservation plan. ¶3. (SBU) LCSD has secure facilities and proper accounting and security procedures for handling reftel item. Mr. Lai had registered BLC and Economic Officer as visitors at the museum's employee entrance, which allowed access to the conservation and collection storage areas. The venue maintains a 24-hour guard presence. After passing a manned guard station, Mr. Lai used a key card at the employee entrance, then the group passed two additional guards before arriving at the Central Conservation Section's office. This office was secured with a key lock and a combination lock. The museum conducts an annual equipment inventory. Museum staff will retain positive control of reftel item at all times. ¶4. (SBU) The work of the LCSD involving reftel item will take place at the Sha Tin office of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. The work will not involve persons from the People's Republic of China (PRC). Although the office has interns, they are supervised and usually come from places such as Germany, Portugal, and Macau. There is little cooperation with the PRC in the office's work. This office has not previously sought or purchased United States Munitions List (USML) items, although it has purchased equipment similar to reftel infrared microscope from the Netherlands in the past. BLC and Economic Officer explained restrictions on USML items, including the prohibition against unauthorized re-transfer and re-export, and passed Mr. Lai an information sheet containing contact information for the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) Response Team. MARUT