Two people from Taiwanese companies were questioned as part of a probe into pagers that exploded while being used by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, investigators said today, as top officials insisted the devices were not from Taiwan.
Questions and speculation have swirled over where the devices came from and how they were supplied to the militant group after hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies detonated across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 37 people and wounding nearly 3,000.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The New York Times reported this week that Israel had inserted explosive material into a shipment of pagers from Taiwan's Gold Apollo (金阿波羅通信), citing US and other anonymous officials.
However, Gold Apollo head Hsu Ching-kuang (許清光) denied producing the devices, pointing the finger instead at Hungary-based partner BAC Consulting KFT, which Gold Apollo had allowed to use its trademark.
Local media reported that the second person questioned was a woman surnamed Wu (吳), a representative connected to BAC Consulting KFT, who had set up a company based in Taipei called "Apollo Systems."
"Our country takes the case very seriously," the Shilin District Prosecutors' Office said in a statement today. "We instructed the Investigation Bureau's national security station to further interview two people from Taiwanese companies as witnesses yesterday."
The two witnesses were allowed to leave after multiple rounds of questioning.
"We will clarify the facts as soon as possible such as whether Taiwanese companies are involved or not," the office said.
It also said investigators had searched four locations, including in New Taipei City's Sijhih District (汐止), where Gold Apollo is located, and in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖).
Neihu is the listed address of Apollo Systems, according to a company registry Web site, which showed that the firm was established in April.
Wu did not speak to reporters when she was brought in for questioning yesterday, according to local TV footage.
Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) told reporters today that Gold Apollo's made-in-Taiwan pagers consisted of components that were "low-end IC [integrated circuits] and batteries."
"These things would not explode," he said, adding that Gold Apollo had exported 260,000 pagers in the past two years and "there has never been an explosion."
When pressed on the pagers in Lebanon used by Hezbollah operatives, he said: "We can be certain that they are not produced in Taiwan."
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) also reiterated that "the company and Taiwan did not directly export pagers to Lebanon."
Earlier this week, Gold Apollo said the pager model mentioned in media reports "is produced and sold by BAC."
However, a Hungarian government spokesman said BAC Consulting KFT was "a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary."
Taiwan yesterday expelled four China Coast Guard vessels that entered Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off Lienchiang County (Matsu) shortly after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced the start of its “Joint Sword-2024B” drills around Taiwan. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a statement that it had detected two China Coast Guard ships west of Nangan Island (南竿) and another two north of Dongyin Island (東引) at 8am yesterday. After Chinese ships sailed into restricted waters off Matsu shortly afterward, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch deployed four patrol vessels to shadow and approach the vessels, it said. The incidents pushed up to 44 the number
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
Renovations on the B3 concourse of Taipei Main Station are to begin on Nov. 1, with travelers advised to use entrances near the Taiwan Railway or high-speed rail platforms or information counter to access the MRT’s Red Line. Construction is to be completed before the end of next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said last week. To reduce the impact on travelers, the NT$95 million (US$2.95 million) project is to be completed in four stages, it said. In the first stage, the hall leading to the Blue Line near the art exhibition area is to be closed from Nov. 1 to the end
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
RSS