On the heels of a unique protest movement using banknotes in Iran several months ago, French media outlet The Observers is reporting that a similar movement has found roots in China.

The movement sees grassroots protesters writing messages criticizing their government on banknotes to spread their message in an underground and widespread manner.

The Chinese banknote protests target the government, criticizing their harassment of the spiritual Falun Gong sect, whose followers must be actively sought out by police. The messages on the banknotes- typically written by Falun Gong supporters and followers – are what The Observers call “innovative ways to communicate their message without giving themselves away.”

Pictures on The Observers website show several photos of marked bills with message like “Falun Gong is good, the world knows it, the world condemns the [Communist Party of China]” and “Believe that freedom is not a crime, Falun Gong makes people better.”

Labeled “The Green Movement” in Iran because the messages were written in predominately green ink, the subtle protests there opposed the reelection of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in what many deemed a “rigged election” at the hands of the government.

As a way to combat this movement, the Iranian government deemed any graffitied banknote invalid and ordered citizens to exchange their “green” banknotes for “clean notes” by the beginning of 2010.

So far, the Communist Party of China (CCP) has issued no response to the pro-Falun Gong movement on banknotes though their history with the movement in the past has not been passive.

As a relatively new spiritual movement in China (emerging in 1992) the Chinese Communist Party banned Falun Gong in 1999 and deemed it an “evil cult” because its followers largely focused on meditative practices in public and opposed traditional Chinese spirituality.

SOURCES:
The Observers: “The Banknote Revolt Hits China”
“Falun Gong”
Global Paper Security: “Iranian’s Shift Protest Movement To Banknotes”
Global Paper Security: “Iran Deems ‘Green’ Banknotes Invalid”

All banknotes are intricately designed with particular pictures, security features and unique stories.
This article posted on CNNGo.com takes a closer look at seven of the most interesting intricacies of Asian currency.

Funny money: The wacky world of Asian currencies
by La Carmina @ CNNGo.com

#1- India: Thumbs-up and peace sign rupees

India’s one-rupee coin has an image of a hand giving the thumbs up. On the two rupee, the fingers form a peace sign. These coins were designed with the blind in mind, but they’re also useful for the numerically illiterate (just count the fingers.)

#2 – Hong Kong: Plastic dollars
Plastic money is no longer a nickname just for credit cards. In July 2008, Hong Kong issued bright, high-detail HK$10 bills made from polymer, potentially making dirty money a thing of the past: these notes can be washed with water and even soap.

#3 – China: Fake and real Chairman Mao yuan

In China, counterfeit bills sometimes slip into circulation, like the topmost 100-yuan bill. How to tell? Rub Mao Zedong’s jacket. The genuine note has ridges while the fake one is smooth. The black line is also more pronounced on the real deal.

#4 – Indonesia: Big money rupiahs

Quite a few visitors to Indonesia will have spread out their freshly-exchanged currency and rolled around in it, squealing “I’m rich!” It’s not unusual for locals to carry around millions of rupiah. Too bad a 50,000 bill is worth a paltry US$5.

#5 – North Korea: “The Eternal President” on three denominations

North Korean money lives up to the country’s topsy-turvy reputation. Visitors are issued a separate currency: Red banknotes for socialists and green ones for capitalists. The national system is just as confusing. The 100, 1,000 and 5,000 won bills have the exact same Kim Il-Sung design, only in different colors.

#6 – South Korea: Controversy over a historical armillary clock

In 2007, the Bank of Korea released 10,000 banknotes with a Joseon dynasty astronomical clock on the back. Historians went up in arms because the image depicted a similar invention, the Chinese honchonui, and not the 17th century Korean honchonsigye. The bank dismissed their demands for a re-design as nitpicking.

#7 – Macau: The Motherland stakes its claim

Macau was a Portuguese territory until it was handed back to China in 1999. Although Banco Nacional Ultramarino currency is still legal tender, China flexed its muscle by issuing four million 20-pataca banknotes that commemorate the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The press release explains: “In this way, citizens of the MSAR are able to share the joys of hosting such a magnificent international event by the Motherland.”

SOURCE:
CNNGo.com: “Funny money: The wacky world of Asian currencies”

North Korea's won has rapidly depreciated to Chinese traders

Nearly a month after North Korea redenominated its currency at a rate of 100 to 1 (read North Korea changes currency and rates 100 to 1), North Korea changes currency and rates 100 to 1), its international value has also begun to plunge.

Reports from South Korea’s Yonhap news agency this week stated the new North Korean currency was trading in neighboring China at a rate of 1,000 won for 1 yuan (the Chinese currency).

Shortly after the currency shift in early December, Chinese trade rates were steady around 50 to 1. Since then, the value of North Korean won has been rapidly depreciating.

The government of North Korea cited the country’s decade-plus run of economic hardship and increasing evidence of runaway inflation as their reason for redenomination, though many critics agree it was a direct attack on emerging private markets.

Citizens were only given one week to exchange their old currency for new currency in December, and were only permitted to exchange 150,000 won regardless of how much won they owned or had saved.

On New Year’s Day, North Korea banned the use of any international currency within its borders.

SOURCES:
AFP: “North Korea banknotes plunge in value: report”
Argentina Star: “North Korean banknotes find no favour with locals”

Debit cards have placed banks, like this one in Tashkent, between the people and their money. Courtesy Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty.

A move to reduce the amount of banknotes used in everyday transactions in Uzbekistan has hit some rather large setbacks, at times leaving people with no cash in hand at all.

The central-Asian country recently launched a campaign to push the use of debit cards as a more convenient way of conducting transactions, with the government saying the move would help bring everyday transactions into the digital age.

Under the program – which is only a month old – citizens were to be paid via electronic deposits, and encouraged to use debit cards for transactions for any/all methods of payment. The program would also allow citizens to conduct traditional bank transactions like withdrawals should they need to.

But some citizens say getting their hands on cold hard cash isn’t easy at all and are feeling the pangs of the banknote experiment.

“When we go to banks, they won’t give us any money because they say they don’t have cash,” says Gulbahor, a teacher from the eastern town of Syrdarya “And many shops don’t accept cards and tell us, ‘We trade only with cash.’”

This Catch 22 – not having access to banknotes, but having to use only banknotes in some markets – is causing a major problem for Uzbek middle-class citizens.

Debit cards were introduced in Uzbekistan in the 1990s, and were mainly adopted by the wealthy classes. Recently, Uzbek authorities have promoted the cards by ordering supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and gas stations to install electronic terminals. The terminals, however, are absent from bazaars and markets where most citizens would conduct their daily business.

Gulbahor says that the only way she can get her hands on banknotes is through money-changers who have equipped themselves with debit-card terminals, but the cost of such a transaction is high.

The belief that banknotes are a thing of the past is a common misconception. Though consumers are moving forward into a more digital age, the demand for banknotes worldwide is actually increasing (read: Worldwide Banknote Demand Is Increasing)

Last year, for example, British business leaders, urged the Bank of England to producer more ten pound banknotes (read: British Business Leaders Demand More Ten Pound Banknotes).

A recent report by Research and Markets, the world’s largest market research resource, also highlighted the continual demand for paper banknotes around the globe.

SOURCES:
Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty: “Debit Cards Costly, At Least For Some Uzbeks”
Research and Markets: “Worldwide Banknote Industry Research Report”

Estonia is on track to become the 17th country in the European Union

The European Union (EU) is set to introduce Estonia into the folds of the euro zone by mid-summer 2010.
Marek Belka, the International Monetary Fund’s head for Europe revealed last week that Estonia is on track to fully adopt the single currency.

“I hope and I think there is a high likelihood that the EU will give Estonia the green light for euro adoption in the first half of 2010,” Belka told Reuters in December.

Adopting the euro is not an easy task. Countries who wish to adopt the single currency must meet very specific criteria regarding low inflation, interest rates, debt and budget deficit, as well as currency stability. The decision also has to be backed by EU finance ministers.

Experts and government officials have said, however, that Estonia meets all the necessary requirements, putting them in position to begin the process of introducing the euro as early as July 2010, though a full currency switch probably wouldn’t occur until the beginning of 2011.

“The keyword for the year 2010 will certainly be the decision of adopting the euro and the relevant preparations,” said Andres Lipstokm, the Governor of the Bank of Estonia.

Should Estonia adopt the euro, they will be the 17th country to join the European Union.

SOURCES:
Reuters: “EU to okay Estonia for euro in H1 2010″
KMS Baltics: “Estonia likely to join euro in ‘first half of 2010’”
Baltic Business News: Lipstock: Estonia’s keyword in 2010 will be euro

In response to the increasing circulation of banknotes scribbled with anti-government slogans (read Iranians shift protest movement to banknotes), the Central Bank of Iran said this week that it would no longer accept graffitied banknotes as valid currency.

Since the beginning of the Iranian Green Movement (the ink on the banknotes is often green, and the colour symbolizes the official colour of the opposition), the government has been struggling to deal with the rise of this covert protest movement.

At the beginning of December, The Pro-Democracy Movement of Iran deemed the Green Movement a success saying, “the Central Bank of Iran has tried to take these banknotes out of circulation, but there are just too many of them.”

The Central Bank is now telling people to exchange their graffitied banknotes for “clean” notes by January 8, 2010. After this period, any banknote with writing on it will be considered invalid.

The slogans on the banknotes oppose the recent reelection of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in what many, including Iranian reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, have deemed a “rigged election” at the hands of the government.

Since June, banknotes have been in circulation with messages like “In this country, only the government has freedom of speech. Don’t believe anything you hear,” “Khanmenei the dictator, Ahmadinejad the puppet” and “Death to the Dictator.”

The Green Movement has also reverted to other subtle protest tactics like spray painting on walls and using a rarely observed religious holiday for a three-day strike.

SOURCES:
Bloodwars Magazine: “Iran Bans Graffiti on Banknotes
Banknote News: “Iran to Withdraw Notes with Opposition Slogans.”
Pro-Democracy Movement of Iran: “Iranian banknotes uprising”

Experts believe 95 per cent of the security features were accurately reproduced in a recent seizure of counterfeit rupees.

India will put together a ‘financial terror dossier’ this week in an attempt to garner international support in pressuring Pakistan to immobilize a booming counterfeit currency ring that exports bogus Indian banknotes into the country.

Since the attacks in Mumbai last November, India has been aggressively building a number of cases against the neighboring Pakistan, including a case against counterfeiting.

“There is enough evidence with us of Pakistan’s incriminating role in printing fake Indian currency notes and pumping it into India,” a senior intelligence official told DNA, an Indian news outlet.

Indian intelligence agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation believe there are multiple fake printing units throughout Pakistan, and reports indicate that the country has been importing currency paper and ink in massive quantities from European countries for diversion into counterfeit notes.

Authorities, bank officials, and experts have been shocked by the amazing accuracy in the reproduced rupees. Recently seized notes could not be detected as counterfeit by the naked eye.

Currency specialists say the security features on these counterfeit notes have been copied with over 95 per cent accuracy, including – among others – the light and shade effect and multi-directional lines in the watermark of the Mahatma Gandhi series.

Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India announced it would begin a trial period of introducing low-denomination polymer banknotes in an attempt to combat counterfeiting (Read: India To Begin Trial Period for Polymer Banknotes).

SOURCES:
DNA: “India gears up to tackle ‘financial terror’”
Reserve Bank of India: Security Features

The word ‘Republic’ is replaced by ‘dictator,’ leaving ‘The Central Bank of the Islamic Dictatorship of Iran. SOURCE: observers.france24.com

Protesters in Iran have launched what they are calling a “second level” of protesting, shifting from overt public displays such as street demonstrations and rallies, to more covert tactics like writing protest notes and slogans on rial banknotes – the Iranian currency.

With staunch government crackdowns on protest movements throughout the country, pro-democracy protesters are focusing on banknotes because it is a high circulation mass-medium.

The Pro-Democracy Movement of Iran reported Sunday that the Green Movement (named as such because the messages are written in green ink) and its message is not only gaining in popularity, but is also proving itself effective:

“The Central Bank of Iran has tried to take these banknotes out of circulation, but there are just too many of them, [so they] gave up.”

The protests oppose the recent reelection of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in what many, including Iranian reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, have deemed a “rigged election” at the hands of the government.

French news website The Observers has posted several photos of the banknotes graffitied with messages like “In this country, only the government has freedom of speech. Don’t believe anything you hear” and “Khanmenei the dictator, Ahmadinejad the puppet.”

The Green Movement has also reverted to other subtle protest tactics like spray painting on walls and using a rarely observed religious holiday for a three-day strike.

SOURCES:
ABC News: “Iran protests continue despite crackdown”
The Observers: “The revolt of the banknotes”
Pro-Democracy Movement of Iran: “Iranian banknotes uprising”
CBC.ca: “Iran blames US for bitter post-election dispute”

The new North Korean won banknotes. The new bills are worth 1/100th of what the old bills were.

Though the currency will keep the same name (the won) one hundred old won is now only worth one won – 1/100th of their previous worth.

The government made the announcement on Monday, and has informed citizens and foreign embassies they have until this coming Sunday to exchange old bills for new ones:

“Bills that were not exchanged during the period and our currency that has been illegally taken outside the country will become entirely invalid,” said an official from the country’s Central Bank.

But there is a stringent limit on the amount of currency people can exchange – only 150,000 won to be precise. The rest must be deposited into government-run banks or else it will be rendered useless in the coming weeks, said South Korean media outlets.

Businesses throughout the country have been shut down for the week while the transition takes place and Pyongyang residents are rushing to the black market to convert their cash savings into foreign currencies.
Under current black market rates, 150,000 won is worth about $60 US.

The government said the reason for the change in currency and its rates is because of the countries decade-plus run of economic hardship and the increasing evidence of runaway inflation.

While critics agree that tough economic times have been no stranger to North Korea, some, as the American Press reports, believe this change is more complex:

“The government is retaking control of the economy from the hands of merchants, analysts said.
‘This is aimed at rooting out the budding private sector and strengthening the government’s control of the economy,’ said Jeong Kwang-min, a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy in Seoul.

He said the move has a broader goal in mind: to pave the way for Kim Jong Il to turn over power to his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, and to ensure he inherits a stable economy.”

Good Friends, a Seoul-based civic group has said the main goals of the conversion are to target the struggling middle class and to crack down on private markets that have stoked capitalism.

The group also reported this week that authorities have threatened “merciless punishment” for anyone violating the rules of the currency exchange.

SOURCES:
Morrison World News: “North Korea switched currency, 100 to 1 rate”
Yonhap News Agency: “N. Korea confirms currency reform, vows to normalize economy”
Yonhap News Agency: “New N. Korean banknotes feature Kim Il-sung, his birth home”
Penny Stock and OTCBB News: “Activists: Despair in N. Korea over currency exchange (AP)”
The Morning Star: “DPRK devalues currency to ‘fight inequality’”