TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Wednesday (Sept. 18) responded to the pager explosions in Lebanon that carried the brand of a Taiwanese company.
On Tuesday (Sept. 17), Israel's Mossad spy agency detonated 5,000 beepers used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon, a Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters, killing 12 and injuring 2,800, per the BBC. When asked by Taiwan News to comment on reports that the pagers were labeled with the Taiwanese brand Gold Apollo Co., MOFA Spokesperson Jeff Liu (劉永健) issued a three-point statement.
First, Liu said Taiwan has not directly exported this pager model to Lebanon. According to Liu, the internal structure of this type of pager includes a communication receiving antenna, microprocessor chip, communication decoder, motherboard, display screen, and AA alkaline battery with minimal power capacity.
Liu emphasized that the device in this standard configuration cannot generate an explosion that would cause death or injury.
Second, from 2022 to August 2024, the company exported 260,000 pagers, primarily to Europe and North America. Liu stressed there have been no previous media reports of explosions involving this product.
Third, the case is under judicial investigation to further clarify the facts. What can be confirmed at this stage is that no pagers exported from Taiwan have been reported to have exploded, said Liu.
On Tuesday, Gold Apollo founder Hsu Ching-kuang (許清光) said the pager model AR-924 mentioned in media reports was produced and sold under license by the Hungarian firm BAC Consulting KFT. He explained that Gold Apollo only provided brand authorization and had no involvement in the design or production of this particular product.