Taiwan rushes to protect showpiece electronics exports sector

Taiwanese leaders are on an overdrive to clear the air after the recent explosions in Lebanon. This is after Gold Apollo, the Taiwan-based company that had licensed the pager brand to a Hungarian outfit, went on record this week saying it did not manufacture the devices used in the attack. The ministers of the tiny island are ensuring the message gets through to its business partners and customers.

“The situation as we understand is, that components in the pagers produced by Gold Apollo do not explode,” said Taiwan Economy Minister, Kuo Jyh-Huei, adding, “the company had exported about 260,000 pagers in the last two years and there had been no explosions. So, we can determine that the pagers produced in Taiwan do not explode.”

The minister said the government was helping the company in clearing its name. “Guessing from what we know right now, we will try to help Gold Apollo so that they can come clear about their past dealings. We will help with the investigation, because this has already entered the judicial investigation stage, so we will wait and see what can be discovered.”

Taiwan’s exports, which comprise majorly of electronics and machinery, account for more than 60 per cent of its GDP. Even a hint that electronics manufactured by its companies are lethal, could cripple its industry.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry has already activated its missions abroad to reach out and limit the damage. “Whatever the process was, the judicial investigation is already underway. We are asking our missions abroad to raise their security awareness and will exchange relevant information with other countries,” said Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, Lin Chia-Lung.

The spotlight turned on Gold Apollo on September 17, when thousands of pagers it had reportedly manufactures exploded in Lebanon. The explosions injured nearly 3,000 and killed at least 9 people.

The Taiwanese economy is dependent on exports, mainly of electronics products to China for final assembly. Taiwan exported electronics worth $223 billion in 2023, accounting for more than 60 per cent of total exports by value.

It would also not be an exaggeration to say that Taiwan powers the world’s IT systems. The island produces around 60 per cent of the world’s computer chips, including the most advanced, which are installed in personal computers, phones, servers and vehicles. Chips produced by Taiwan also run neural processing units, the brains behind the ongoing artificial intelligence revolution.