With the nine-in-one local elections entering their final countdown, the blue and green camps are locked in a dispute over "what actually counts as vote-buying" — bad news for voters and candidates alike, since the standard remains unclear.

• Justice Minister Cheng Ming-chien said NT$30 is not an absolute threshold for vote-buying, but merely a reference figure for prosecutors deciding whether to open an investigation, prompting outside criticism that the standard is vague.
• The KMT produced footage from a campaign rally for a DPP candidate for city councillor-at-large in Hualien, saying the sandwiches and hand-shaken drinks handed out there had long exceeded NT$30, and demanded that the Ministry of Justice treat all parties alike.
• The KMT also said that because the line is unclear this year, elected representatives have not even dared to hand out raffle prizes at community Mid-Autumn Festival events, accusing prosecutors of "going after the blue camp but not the green."
• The DPP responded that prosecutors handle cases based on evidence, that investigating vote-buying draws no distinction between blue and green, and that the target is conduct that uses money or goods to induce votes.
• As of early September, cases of interference with elections had reached a cumulative total of 1,780, with vote-buying accounting for more than half; the maximum reward for informants is NT$20 million.

Outlook: In the final sprint before the election, vote-buying cases will only multiply, and the dispute over the standard will continue to serve as material for attacks between the blue and green camps.