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Taiwan Quick Take

■ FISMERY
Shark fishing boat stopped
A Taiwanese fishing boat had nearly 100 shark carcasses and some 650 shark fins on board when it was stopped in waters off Palau, which has a strict ban on shark fishing, officials said yesterday. Palau Assistant Attorney General Christopher Hale said 30 charges had been filed against the vessel, its Taiwanese captain and its Palau partner company for breaching the Pacific island's prohibition on shark fishing and mutilation. When the fishing vessel was stopped, Palau authorities found 94 shark carcasses, 11 shark heads and about 650 shark fins inside. The fishing vessel is also said to have manipulated its location device to avoid detection by Palau's vessel monitoring system. Another Taiwanese boat is also being held after sharks were found on board, the vice presidential office said.

■ LABOR
Workers' group plans rally
The Chinese Federation of Labor said yesterday it would stage a demonstration on Sept. 18 in Taipei to protest against the increase in National Health Insurance fees and the decrease in monthly pension from labor insurance. "There are many problems with the national health insurance, such as inflated medicine prices," said federation president Chen Chieh (陳杰), who is also a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator. "But what is most intolerable is a NT$500 million [US$15 million] premium budget listed by the National Health Insurance Bureau to award its staff for administrative efficiency -- what efficiency, may I ask?" Chen said at a press conference yesterday. He said the recent reforms of the labor insurance system would actually result in a deduction in the monthly retirement pension of workers. "We therefore call on our fellow workers to stand up and join our rally on Sept. 18," Chen said.


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