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The fifth series of the new Taiwan dollar banknotes is the current and latest series to be issued for circulation in the Republic of China (ROC). It was first introduced by the Central Bank of China on July 3, 2000.
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Background
For years the old Chinese Nationalist yuan was still the official national currency of the Republic of China. The Chinese Nationalist yuan was also known as the fiat currency (法幣) or the silver yuán (銀元), even though it was decoupled from the value of silver during World War II. Many older statutes in ROC law have fines and fees denominated in this currency.
Along with the introduction of this series of banknotes, the New Taiwan dollar became the official currency of the ROC and is no longer secondary to the silver yuan. For the first time, the Central Bank of China began the issuing authority of the banknotes directly, rather than the Bank of Taiwan. The series also ends a four-decade tradition of including Chiang Kai-shek in most of the banknotes of higher denominations except for the NT$200 issue, opting for the more "modern" themes.
Two new denominations were issued in the series, the NT$200 and NT$2,000. The NT$100 and NT$200 banknotes features national figures and buildings, while the other denominations present more general national themes and natural habitats in Taiwan. The groups of people depicted on themes of the NT$500 and NT$1,000 banknotes are real personalities taken by photographers.
Security features
Several new security features have been incorporated into this series. Microprinting, windowed security threads, perfect registration devices and lithographic printing have been included. The NT$2,000 was initially the only banknote to feature a holographic strip, being the highest denomination banknote in public circulation. This feature has since been extended to NT$500 and NT$1,000 banknotes.