Taiwanese company denies explosive pagers made in Taiwan
The CEO of an electronics company at the center of allegations that its pagers were used in an attack that injured thousands of people and killed 11 in Lebanon, Tuesday, September 17, has denied manufacturing the devices, and said that they were not made in Taiwan.
Hsu Chingkuang, Chairman of Gold Apollo, said that the pagers were merely branded Apollo Gold under contract, and that they were manufactured by a European company. Hsu said that the pagers were not manufactured, nor even designed, by Gold Apollo.
The denial comes after reports in major international news outlets, including New York Times and Reuters, alleging that the pagers were made in Taiwan. Some reports even suggested that Israeli operatives planted explosives in the devices before they were shipped from Taiwan.
Hsu spoke to police before convening a press conference at the company’s headquarters in Xizhi District, New Taipei City at 11:30 am, Wednesday.
Hsu told reporters that the company had a long-term cooperative arrangement with a company called BAC. The relationship was described as an OEM and regional agency cooperation agreement, under which BAC is authorized to manufacture and sell products under the trademark brand “Gold Apollo” in specific areas.
Hsu said that the pager model AR-924 reported in the media is a product designed, produced and sold by the BAC company. The company also issued a press release to accompany the statements.
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