Taiwan pager maker stunned by link to Lebanon attacks

The contention to find the shaper of the pagers that exploded successful Lebanon has taken an unexpected crook - towards a Taiwanese institution fewer had heard of until this morning.

At slightest 12 radical were killed and astir 3,000 injured successful Tuesday's explosions targeting members of the equipped radical Hezbollah, which acceptable disconnected a gepolitical tempest successful the Middle East.

Caught successful the crisis, Taiwanese steadfast Gold Apollo's laminitis Hsu Ching-Kuang flatly denied his institution had thing to bash with the attacks.

Instead, Mr Hsu has said helium licensed his commercialized people to a institution successful Hungary called BAC Consulting to usage the Gold Apollo sanction connected their ain pagers. BBC attempts to interaction BAC person truthful acold been unsuccessful.

“You look astatine the pictures from Lebanon,” Mr Hsu told reporters extracurricular his firm's offices connected Wednesday. "They don’t person immoderate people saying Made successful Taiwan connected them, we did not marque those pagers!”

The offices of Gold Apollo are successful a ample caller concern parkland successful a non-descript suburb of Taiwan's capital, Taipei.

They look the aforesaid arsenic immoderate of the thousands of tiny trading companies and manufacturers that marque up a immense chunk of the island's system - but for the 2 constabulary officers posted astatine the entrance, acceptable to fend disconnected the ample gaggle of reporters and TV crews squatting outside.

On the walls of Gold Apollo's bureau are posters of the company’s products – a montage of tiny boxy integrative devices with small grey LCD screens. They are each pagers.

Until this greeting the company’s website had a leafage devoted to each, extolling its virtues and practicalities. But arsenic soon arsenic quality broke that Gold Apollo was the alleged root of the devices utilized successful the attacks successful Lebanon, the website went offline.

Mr Hsu said it was pagers made by BAC Consulting that were utilized successful the Lebanon attacks. He told reporters that his institution had signed an statement with BAC Consulting 3 years ago.

The wealth transfers from BAC had been "very strange", helium added. There had been problems with the payments, which had travel done the Middle East, helium told reporters, but helium did not spell into detail.

Initially, helium said, BAC wanted to bargain pagers from Gold Apollo to merchantability successful Europe. But aft astir a twelvemonth they came up with a caller program to marque their ain pagers and licensed Gold Apollo's name.

"We lone supply marque trademark authorisation and person nary engagement successful the plan oregon manufacturing of this product,” a connection from Gold Apollo said.

But the information determination is present a squad from the Taipei probe bureau wrong his bureau – with ample numbers of carboard boxes - suggests the Taiwanese authorities are not wholly reassured.

Nevertheless, Mr Hsu’s connection that his institution didn’t marque the devices is plausible.

Taiwan’s manufacturing strategy is simply a analyzable maze of tiny companies, galore of which bash not really marque the products they sell. They whitethorn ain the marque name, the intelligence spot and person probe and plan departments. But astir of the existent manufacturing is farmed retired to factories successful China oregon Southeast Asia.

Pagers are besides hardly cutting-edge exertion – determination are galore companies crossed the satellite susceptible of making them.

They are tiny vigor receivers with LED screens that tin person and show messages. In the 1980s and 1990s physics pagers were considered to beryllium the latest tech, utilized by tens of millions of people. Before mobile phones, companies utilized pagers to nonstop abbreviated substance messages to employees successful the field.

But successful the past 2 decades the emergence of the astute telephone has pushed pagers to the brink of extinction. They are present a niche instrumentality holding connected successful places similar hospitals – wherever they stay a inexpensive and reliable method for messaging doctors and nurses, adjacent erstwhile different connection lines are disrupted.

Starting successful the precocious 2000s, Gold Apollo excessively started moving distant from making physics pagers and started manufacturing different short-range vigor devices – peculiarly for restaurants. The company’s astir palmy merchandise present is simply a circular disc that is handed to customers successful nutrient courts and restaurants erstwhile they spot an bid - it lights up and vibrates erstwhile their bid is ready.

It's apt that Gold Apollo's marque sanction - arsenic a reliable pager shaper - was utile successful selling the pagers that ended up with Hezbollah.

But determination are inactive much questions than answers successful this bonzer story.

We cognize astir thing astir BAC Consulting - who is oregon was down it?

If Gold Apollo did not marque the pagers utilized successful the onslaught successful Lebanon, past who did and where?