Two weeks before city council elections in Taipei and Kaohsiung, authorities in Taiwan have received nearly 200 reports of bribery, according to Taiwan media sources.

Elections for mayors and city councilors in the two biggest cities of Taiwan will be held on Dec. 9.

Taiwan authorities have offered rewards to anyone providing information on attempted bribery.

From 1995 through 2006, Taiwan authorities have handed out 350million New Taiwan dollars (about US$10.6 million) in rewards, which averaged more than 720,000 New Taiwan dollars. Higher than the annual salary of many office workers in Taiwan.

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2006)