invalid byte sequence for encoding "UTF8": 0xab

I am having a vexing problem with a script I am writing to populate reference tables in a new database.

I am running postgreSQL 8.3 with psql 8.3.7.
Psql reads this SQL statement:
INSERT INTO META_AUTH.DOMAIN_META_ASSERTION (TITLE, DESCRIPTION, META_ASSERTION)
VALUES ('Super-User Authorization',
'This allows a super-user to administer all meta-data.',
'UserID <Administer> ()');

and I get this message:
ERROR: invalid byte sequence for encoding "UTF8": 0xab
HINT: This error can also happen if the byte sequence does not match the encoding expected by the server, which is controlled by "client_encoding".

It is complaining about the '<' character. I do not understand why. The database is created the commands
CREATE DATABASE mayyou
WITH OWNER=meta_auth ENCODING='UTF8';
ALTER DATABASE mayyou SET client_encoding = 'UTF8';

When I give psql the \encoding command, it replies
UTF8

Why is it complaining about this valid character code?

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