The Chinese New Year which began yesterday is a traditional time for exchanging gifts but in modern-day China there?s a thin line between giving a holiday present and offering a bribe. The government says graft poses a serious threat to its grip on power and has vowed to stamp it out. Almost a third of all officials convicted of corruption had taken bribes during the Lunar New Year holiday, Xinhua news agency said this week. ?When regional governments want to get a project or funds, they have to build good relations with central departments,? Li Yanqiu, a regional city representative, was quoted as saying by the International Herald Leader newspaper.

?So for representatives in Beijing like us, passing out gifts before Lunar New Year is an important task.? Traditionally, parents and employers hand out little red ?hong bao? packets of a small amount of ?lucky money? to children and staff. For more than 2,000 years, Chinese have believed the packets can bring happiness and bribe ghosts not to hurt children in the coming year.

?Big gift givers make important contributions to China?s economic development,? an unidentified economist was quoted as saying in the International Herald Leader ahead of the beginning of the Year of the Rooster. ?But what they are doing could be called a form of corruption.? Officials must report any gifts worth more than 50 yuan ($6) but few do.