Taiwanese government wants to demonstrate its neutrality in supplying booby traps
Taiwanese brand Apollo Gold, suspected of having cooperated with Israeli services to modify its pagers, has denied any responsibility. Questioned by several media, the head of the Taiwanese SME referred to a Hungarian company authorized to produce Apollo pagers under license.
“The product is not ours, they just stick our company’s brand on it”defended Hsu Ching-kuang, founder and head of the company, quoted by the New York TimesThe company stated in a press release that it had a licensing agreement with BAC, a Hungarian company. However, the AR924 model, presented as “robust search engine”appeared on the Taiwanese brand’s website before the attack. The website was taken down on Wednesday.
Keen to demonstrate its neutrality, the Taiwanese government also reacted by publishing customs records indicating that between January and August 2024, Gold Apollo had mainly exported pagers to the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, the Netherlands and France. By 2022, the company had exported 254 to Hungary.
But the sale of electronic products often goes through several intermediaries. For its part, the Hungarian government also sought to exonerate its company: “The company in question is a commercial intermediary that does not have a manufacturing or operations centre in Hungary. It only has one administrator registered at the declared address and the listed devices have never been in Hungary.”Hungarian authorities explained in a press release.
In X, several pro-Chinese propaganda stories take the opportunity to attack the Taiwanese electronics industry, presenting it as a tool in the service of American interests. On the contrary, they highlight the safety of the product. “Made in China”reversing the accusations of espionage levelled against Chinese companies such as Huawei by US services in recent years. China is a long-standing supporter of Palestine and seeks to strengthen its influence in the Middle East.
