“The components that are not made in Taiwan are low-cost integrated circuits and batteries,” Minister Qiu Jie-hui told reporters.
Asked if the components of the pagers that exploded were made in Taiwan, he said: “I can say with certainty that they were not made in Taiwan.”
The minister added that the judicial authorities are investigating the matter.
The minister’s statements, which did not deny that the pager was made in Taiwan but only that parts of it were made, contradict what was announced by the Taipei-based company Gold Apollo.
The company said this week that it did not originally manufacture the devices used in the attack, but rather that they were made by the Hungarian company BAC, which has a license to use its brand.
Prosecutors questioned the chairman and founder of Gold Apollo late Thursday, and he was released.
Twelve people were killed and nearly 3,000 injured when pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded simultaneously across Lebanon on Tuesday.
According to Sky News Arabia sources, the explosives inside the devices were planted by the Israeli intelligence agency (Mossad).
Hezbollah has vowed revenge on Israel, which has not claimed responsibility for the bombings, although the two sides have been exchanging fire across the border since the Gaza war broke out in October.
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