Entrepreneur Hsu Ching-kuang, renowned in Taiwan for reviving the outdated electronic pager market, is facing scrutiny following the recent detonations of pagers linked to the militant group Hezbollah. On Tuesday, hundreds of these devices exploded in Lebanon and parts of Syria, resulting in 12 fatalities and nearly 3,000 injuries, according to Lebanon’s health minister. A U.S. official revealed that Israel informed them it was behind the attack, though the Israeli government has yet to make an official statement.
Hsu, whose company Gold Apollo reportedly held a commanding 99% share of the Dutch pager market, acknowledged that the pagers involved in the incident bore his company’s branding. He expressed embarrassment over the situation as police and journalists descended on his northern Taiwan office to investigate further.
Despite the involvement of his company’s brand, Hsu maintained that Gold Apollo had no part in the manufacturing or exporting of the explosive devices. He specified that they were produced by a Budapest-based company known as BAC Consulting, asserting that their designs were distinct from his, featuring a chip not used in Gold Apollo’s products.
Reports from Reuters and The New York Times indicated that the pagers were ultimately planted by Israel, with Lebanese and U.S officials supporting this theory. However, the timeline and method for how these devices were altered to become hazardous remain unclear.
Hsu’s company became involved with BAC Consulting three years ago when a woman named Teresa, claiming to be a local representative from BAC, approached him. After two months of negotiations, Hsu signed a contract allowing BAC to sell Gold Apollo’s pagers and use its trademark on their products, although he later found their requests and payment methods peculiar.
The Hungarian firm, which registered in May 2022, has a single owner named Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono. Her LinkedIn profile presents her as a CEO and strategic advisor, although efforts to reach her via a listed phone number were unsuccessful.
Approximately a year post-contract, BAC returned to Hsu seeking to create their own devices while still using Gold Apollo’s brand. Hsu was critical of the engineering competency he perceived from BAC, suggesting they should simply use his established products due to usability and design concerns.
Complications arose regarding their financial transactions, as payments to Gold Apollo came from a Middle Eastern account that faced multiple banking issues. Hsu insists that none of the pagers that exploded were produced in Taiwan nor were any exported to BAC. Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs corroborates this, stating there are no records of Taiwanese companies exporting pagers directly to Lebanon between 2022 and 2024 and suggested that the devices were modified after export.