In a statement released on Wednesday, Hsu Ching-Kuang, founder of Taiwan’s Gold Apollo, vehemently denied the company’s involvement in the deadly explosions that rocked Lebanon on Tuesday. The blasts, attributed to pagers detonated simultaneously by Hezbollah members, resulted in the deaths of at least nine people and injured nearly 3,000. Images of the destroyed pagers, analyzed by Reuters, revealed a format and stickers on the back consistent with Gold Apollo’s products. A senior Lebanese security source confirmed that Hezbollah had placed an order for 5,000 pagers from the Taiwanese company.
Hsu, however, maintained that the pagers used in the explosions were manufactured by a European company that had obtained the rights to utilize Gold Apollo’s brand. “The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it,” he clarified. While Hsu refrained from naming the European manufacturer, he emphasized that Gold Apollo was also a victim of the incident. “We are a responsible company. This is very embarrassing,” he stated.
Earlier this year, sources familiar with Hezbollah’s operations revealed that the group had begun utilizing pagers, believing they would be able to evade Israeli tracking of their locations. The incident highlights the complex dynamics of the region and raises questions about the potential misuse of technology in armed conflicts.
