VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHHK #0467 0730835
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130835Z MAR 08
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4385
RHMFIUU/HQ BICE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS HONG KONG 000467 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR 532/OEA/LHINES/ADYSON 
USDOC FOR 3132 FOR FCS/OIO REGIONAL DIRECTOR WILLIAM ZARIT 
BICE FOR OFFICE OF STRATEGIC INVESTIGATIONS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BMGT BEXP HK ETRD ETTC
SUBJECT: EXTRANCHECK: PRE-LICENSE CHECK: HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC 
UNIVERSITY 
 
REF: A) USDOC 01119 B) D390895 
 
¶1. Unauthorized disclosure of the information provided below is 
prohibited by Section 12C of the Export Administration Act. 
 
¶2. As per reftel A request and 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 at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's 
Advance Optics Manufacturing Centre, Yuk Choi Road, Hung Hom, 
Kowloon, Hong Kong (Optics Centre). The purpose of the visit was to 
determine the suitability of the Optics Centre to be a recipient of 
a four axis ultra-precision machine that is the subject of export 
license application D390895. The item (Export Control Classification 
Number 2B001) is valued at USD $512,400 and is controlled for 
national security (NS) and nuclear nonproliferation reasons (NP). 
The license applicant is Sackman Associates of Sudbury, 
Massachusetts. 
 
¶3.  Formerly known as Hong Kong Polytechnic, the Hong Kong 
Polytechnic University achieved full university status in 1994.  It 
has over 2700 staff and close to 13,000 students. 
 
¶4.  The Optics Centre is based in the Department of Industrial and 
System Engineering of the University.  It is supported by a grant 
from the Innovation Technology Fund of the Hong Kong Government. 
According to the Optics Centre's web site 
(www.ise.polyu.edu.hk/umc), it is the first of its kind in Hong Kong 
to engage in the promotion and application of ultra-precision 
machining technology for the precision mould and optics industries. 
The main emphasis of the Optics Centre's activities is on providing 
services in consultancy, contract research and manpower training. 
Its service areas include freeform and aspheric optics design, 
prototype manufacture, precision mould design and manufacturing, 
injection molding of plastic optics, surface quality evaluation, and 
technology promotion. 
 
¶5. On February 29, 2008, ECO and Commercial Assistant Carrie Chan 
visited the Optics Centre at the address listed above and met with 
Mr. Ka Chun Cheung and Dr. Sandy To, Assistant Professor and Manager 
of the Optics Centre. Mr. Cheung initially gave the ECO and 
Commercial Assistant Chan a tour of the facility, located on the 
campus of the University. He stated that the Optics Centre focuses 
on various aspects of the production of glass and plastic lenses for 
various commercial applications.  The Optics Centre produces both 
the lenses and moulds for applications such as lenses for DVD 
players, cameras, laser scanners and similar applications.  A 
current major project on behalf of the University's Electronics 
Department involves the development of automotive lights.  Mr. 
Cheung stated that most of the Optics Centre's customers are located 
in Hong Kong although some are located in mainland China.  Mr. 
Cheung stated that most of its projects on behalf of mainland 
clients are commercial/civil in nature.  Some visiting students and 
researchers who work with the machines are from southern mainland 
China (as might be expected given the significant manufacturing base 
in the applicable industry centers located there). 
 
¶6. During Mr. Cheung's tour of the Optics Centre (which comprises 
roughly 8-10 rooms), Mr. Cheung showed the ECO a range of high 
precision machines acquired by the Optics Centre from various 
vendors including:  a Zeeko IRP-200 7-axis polishing machine used in 
the production of biomedical implants; a Zygo Laser Interferometric 
Non-contact Profiler system used to measure surface roughness, a 
Wyko NT 8000 three dimensional measuring system manufactured by 
VEECO, a Freeform 705G 5-axis Ultra-precision machine), among 
others. 
 
¶7.  Dr. Sandy To, Manager of the Optics Centre joined the group at 
the conclusion of the tour.  She stressed that the Optics Centre is 
keen to receive the item and understands the basis for the license 
requirement.  She stated that the Optics Centre would comply with 
any license conditions and noted that the Optics Centre had been 
glad to host a prior visit by Consular staff when the Optics Centre 
had ordered one of its previous machines. 
 
¶8. At the time visited, the Optics Centre appeared to be a suitable 
recipient of the subject controlled item since it cooperated fully 
with the PLC and provided information on Optics Centre's proposed 
use of the item in Hong Kong. 
 
Cunningham