Taiwan dragged into Middle East politics after deadly pager blasts
Taiwan’s crucial tech industry has been unwittingly drawn into Middle East politics after revelations that thousands of exploding pagers used to kill members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group were manufactured using the branding of a Taiwanese firm.
Taiwanese tech company Gold Apollo on Wednesday denied that it had manufactured the AR-924 model pagers that exploded en masse in Lebanon, saying they had been made by a European company named BAC through a licensing deal.
“According to the agreement, we authorise BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in specific regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are entirely handled by BAC,” Gold Apollo said in a statement.
“We only provide brand trademark authorisation and have no involvement in the design manufacturing of this product,” the company added.
No records
Taiwan’s ministry of economic affairs said it had no record of direct exports of the devices to Lebanon and that the pagers may have been modified after manufacturing.
The New York Times and Reuters news agency, citing unnamed officials, reported that Israeli authorities had placed small amounts of explosive material in the pagers before the detonations.
Israel has not commented.
Analysts in Taiwan expressed doubt that the Taiwanese government or Gold Apollo would have willingly participated in the apparent attack, which Lebanese authorities say killed nine people and wounded more than 2 700 others.
Still, the incident draws unwelcome attention to Taiwan and its globally renowned tech industry, which produces the lion’s share of semiconductors used to power practically all electronics worldwide.
Jhy-Chern Liu, a professor at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, said he was “shocked” at the news and that people on the island were concerned.
“Even though Taiwan has been very close to the US in all aspects, I do not believe that any companies in Taiwan would be involved in a deadly plot like this, considering that Taiwan is an open society and a full democracy. Any hint of ideas like this is simply impossible and unthinkable,” Liu told Al Jazeera.
“I do not think the Gold Apollo company would be so unprofessional or stupid to be involved ...,” Liu added.
Critical lesson
While Taiwan is unlikely to have been directly involved, the incident nonetheless raises uncomfortable questions for Taiwan’s tech industry going forward, given its importance for global supply chains, said Christy Chiang, a professor in tech law at National Taiwan Ocean University.
“This incident will be a huge, critical lesson for the industry,” Chiang told Al Jazeera.
“The Taiwan tech industry used to think they are only manufacturers of hardware, so they have nothing to do with politics, they are doing their own business. But not any more.”
Taiwanese tech company Gold Apollo on Wednesday denied that it had manufactured the AR-924 model pagers that exploded en masse in Lebanon, saying they had been made by a European company named BAC through a licensing deal.
“According to the agreement, we authorise BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in specific regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are entirely handled by BAC,” Gold Apollo said in a statement.
“We only provide brand trademark authorisation and have no involvement in the design manufacturing of this product,” the company added.
No records
Taiwan’s ministry of economic affairs said it had no record of direct exports of the devices to Lebanon and that the pagers may have been modified after manufacturing.
The New York Times and Reuters news agency, citing unnamed officials, reported that Israeli authorities had placed small amounts of explosive material in the pagers before the detonations.
Israel has not commented.
Analysts in Taiwan expressed doubt that the Taiwanese government or Gold Apollo would have willingly participated in the apparent attack, which Lebanese authorities say killed nine people and wounded more than 2 700 others.
Still, the incident draws unwelcome attention to Taiwan and its globally renowned tech industry, which produces the lion’s share of semiconductors used to power practically all electronics worldwide.
Jhy-Chern Liu, a professor at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, said he was “shocked” at the news and that people on the island were concerned.
“Even though Taiwan has been very close to the US in all aspects, I do not believe that any companies in Taiwan would be involved in a deadly plot like this, considering that Taiwan is an open society and a full democracy. Any hint of ideas like this is simply impossible and unthinkable,” Liu told Al Jazeera.
“I do not think the Gold Apollo company would be so unprofessional or stupid to be involved ...,” Liu added.
Critical lesson
While Taiwan is unlikely to have been directly involved, the incident nonetheless raises uncomfortable questions for Taiwan’s tech industry going forward, given its importance for global supply chains, said Christy Chiang, a professor in tech law at National Taiwan Ocean University.
“This incident will be a huge, critical lesson for the industry,” Chiang told Al Jazeera.
“The Taiwan tech industry used to think they are only manufacturers of hardware, so they have nothing to do with politics, they are doing their own business. But not any more.”
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