Focus on Hong Kong Immigration and Life in Hong Kong: Hong Kong has recently seen the emergence of high-quality counterfeit one thousand dollar notes from the 2003 edition. The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Chan Ka-keung, stated on the 8th that there is currently no need for a full recall, but the update of the 2003 edition one thousand dollar notes will be expedited.
On the same day, the Legislative Council raised urgent questions to the Hong Kong government regarding the recent appearance of counterfeit notes, expressing concern that the circulation of banknotes would significantly increase before the Lunar New Year, potentially worsening the counterfeit issue.
In response to questions from legislators, Chan Ka-keung pointed out that the recently discovered counterfeit notes, while imitating some anti-counterfeiting features of genuine notes, are not difficult to identify, especially under ultraviolet light, where the yellow fluorescent barcode on the front of the counterfeit notes appears dull and faded; additionally, the metallic thread cut on the back of the notes is much neater than that of genuine notes; the printing quality is also rougher and contains flaws.
Chan Ka-keung stated that the police have so far seized 100 counterfeit notes from Bank of China and HSBC, which is not a large number.
Following the news of the counterfeit notes, many merchants have posted notices refusing to accept one thousand dollar notes. However, reporters found that many mainland tourists only learned that merchants do not accept one thousand dollar notes when they attempted to make purchases, affecting their shopping experience. A staff member at a pharmacy in Mong Kok explained to reporters that due to reports indicating that the counterfeit notes have a high degree of similarity, they are hesitant to accept them.
Chan Ka-keung mentioned that citizens who do not wish to hold the 2003 edition one thousand dollar notes can request new edition notes when withdrawing cash from banks, and can also exchange their old notes for new ones at banks without the need for a full recall. When the Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched the new edition notes in 2010, it had already arranged for the gradual withdrawal of the 2003 edition notes from the market, and the Monetary Authority and banks will expedite the updating process.
Furthermore, given that the demand for banknotes will increase before the Lunar New Year, the Monetary Authority has also contacted banks to ensure that they have sufficient cash and personnel to meet the public's needs. Chan Ka-keung emphasized that the most important thing at present is to enhance public awareness of banknotes, enabling them to fully understand how to identify counterfeit notes.
