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CHINESE BANKNOTES STAMPED WITH FIREWALL-DEFECTING CODESEric Schena writes: Here's an interesting article my wife Heather sent my way. Someone or some group in China have been stamping 1 Yuan notes with QR codes that bypass the "Great Firewall". It's a rather interesting modern use of money as a form of rebellion.
A series of one yuan banknotes became a whole lot more valuable after being stamped with a quick response (QR) code — a type of matrix barcode that, when scanned by a smartphone, sends a user to a website stored in the code — that circumvents the infamous firewall. Beneath the stamped QR codes are the words: “Scan and download software to break the Internet firewall.” Doing so leads to an Amazon cloud link that hosts downloadable software to get around the firewall. Typically, a website hosting anti-censorship software would itself be censored, but Bill Xia, president of Dynamic Internet Technology — a company that produces circumvention software — told The Epoch Times that there are ways to disguise the URLs of the QR codes. Because the files are stored on Amazon Web Services, if Chinese authorities wanted to block the links provided on the QR codes, they would presumably have to block Amazon in China, an act that could result in serious business problems. As for who’s responsible for the stamped notes, many believe it to be the Falun Gong — a religious sect whose practice emphasizing morality and virtue has been persecuted by the Communist Party since 1999. According to The Epoch Times, user "Qingwenwoding" wrote: "Only when you break through the firewall can you see China clearly." Many other commenters on popular websites asked for clearer photos of the stamped notes so that they could scan them from their computer screen.
Interesting combination of old and new forms of protest! Some coins and medals sport QR codes, but that's just a marketing gimmick. These code stamps are very useful. It will be equally interesting to see the government's response.
-Editor
To read the complete article, see:
Chinese Banknotes Stamped With QR Codes Breach Great Firewall
(mashable.com/2014/01/24/chinese-money-firewall/)
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