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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ TRANSPORTATION
DGH helps bus operators
The Directorate General of Highways (DGH) said on Friday it would subsidize bus operators in southern Taiwan by giving them NT$630 million (US$19 million) to provide bus services to some of the nation's remotest areas. The announcement came after five bus companies in the south threatened to cease operations if the government failed to fully compensate them for their losses. They had said they would stop servicing 150 routes starting on Dec. 22. DGH Director General James Chen (陳晉源) said on Friday records showed the bus operators had only applied to terminate operations on 89 routes. Service could only be stopped seven months after approval of an application, he said. Chen said the directorate has raised the subsidy this year from NT$530 million to NT$630 million. The sum fell short of bus operators' hopes of receiving NT$890 million. The directorate will sit down with bus operators on Tuesday to look for solutions.

■ EVENTS
Aboriginal exhibit opens
The Ilan County Government yesterday opened a two-day exhibition to demonstrate the county's achievements in helping Aborigines develop production industries. The exhibition is being held at the Ilan County Cultural Center and an adjoining plaza. It features more than 30 stalls presenting various aspects of the lives of Aborigines. Some of the stalls display farm products and handicrafts produced by Aborigines, while others feature Atayal delicacies. County government officials said the exhibition is intended to create sales opportunities for Aborigines and increase the competitiveness of their products in the hope of creating jobs and improving their livelihoods.

■ CONSERVATION
Fishing vessel flouts ban
Coast guard officers boarded a fishing boat on Friday night and discovered a whale shark that had been cut up into several pieces, a spokesman for the Eastern Coastal Patrol Office said yesterday in Taitung County. Although whale sharks are not on the list of protected animals, the Fisheries Agency began to limit the number of whale sharks that can be caught in 2001 after discovering that whale shark numbers off the eastern coast had dropped off dramatically as a result of overfishing. An annual quota was set that year, which has since been reviewed and adjusted where necessary. This year, the whale shark hunting quota was set at 30, half last year's level. The spokesman said that this year's quota was reached in July. A ban on whale shark fishing came into effect on Nov. 1 and will remain in place until the end of this year, he said.

■ FOOD
Bones found in US beef
The Department of Health said yesterday that two bone fragments were found in a shipment of imported US beef, marking the third such case within the last two weeks. Hsieh Ting-hung (謝定宏), deputy director of the department's Bureau of Food Safety, said the beef was from Colorado-based Swift Beef Co, which has been banned by the department from shipping its products to Taiwan since Nov. 27. However, he said that as the beef in question was already on its way to Taiwan in the middle of last month, the department accepted the application for inspection from the Taipei importer. The two pieces of bone fragments measured 2.4cm and 4.8cm, Hsieh said, adding that the importer will now have to send back or destroy the shipment. Two bone fragments were also found in a Swift Beef Co shipment late last month.

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