Fake Coins
Trip Start
Jun 03, 2006
1
118
131
Trip End
Ongoing
Shenzhen,
China
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Ever since I first came to China about 3 years ago, I've been used to my 100 yuan notes being carefully checked for forgery, and I've learned to be even more careful myself about accepting 50 yuan notes which are regularly forgeries. Anytime I take a taxi I'm like a hawk when it comes to the change as the drivers seem to be the main conduit of fake notes into day-to-day life.
However, these days it's the 1 yuan coins which are the problem. There are so many in circulation that it's a massive inconvenience to check each one, but the next thing you know you realise that you've got a handful of coins with silver paint chipping off. In an economy which is cash driven and where paying with a note just 5 times the value of the transaction raises eyebrows, you need the small denomination coins to avoid getting umpteen headaches a day. The fakes are becoming a nightmare. More to the point, it's not fun to stop trusting everyone you buy from; in fact, it's plain depressing to treat everyone like a criminal.
Sadly, China's citizens are paying the price for the government's short cuts on investing in a secure currency and the criminal genius of those intent on fraudulently reproducing currency. Distrust and suspicion abound. It is a sad sight to see that on a bus the courtesies, smiles and graces that ease the pains of a busy journey are lost in a fog of distrust as the ticket is purchased. One wonders what the longer term effects of such permeating dishonesty and lack of faith will be on the already fractured and self-centred wider society in China.
