Bắt đầu từ nay

"Bắt đầu từ nay" is a Vietnamese phrase meaning "From now on" pr "From this point forward" ("Bắt đầu" = begin, start; "từ" = "from", "nay" = "now"). It was made famous in a frequently broadcast Vietnamese radio PSA on Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) in Hong Kong during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The frequency of the broadcast (nearly once every hour) meant that many Hong Kong people learned this Vietnamese phrase (even if they do not know the meaning of the phrase), and the phrase eventually became a metaphor for Vietnamese people.

Background of the radio announcement

In 1988, the British colonial Government of Hong Kong announced the policy of Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) in an attempt to stop the continuing influx of Indochinese boat people after the communist takeover in Vietnam and Laos. After the "cut-off day" on June 16, 1988, the Indochinese people who fled to Hong Kong would no longer automatically be considered as "prima facie" refugees, but only asylum seekers. They had to be screened to qualify for refugee status. Those who were screened-out would be sent back to Vietnam and Laos under an orderly and monitored repatriation program.

One way for the Hong Kong Government to propagandize this policy was to make an announcement in Vietnamese on Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), which is a radio corporation operated with funding from the Government. The Government intended to use this radio announcement to inform the Indochinese boat people that they might be repatriated, and to discourage them from coming to Hong Kong.

The radio announcement was broadcast several times in a day. Although most Hong Kong people didn't know Vietnamese, they gradually memorized the pronunciation of the announcement.

The content of the announcement

Original text of the announcement

The radio announcement began with a sentence in Cantonese Chinese, the most commonly spoken Chinese variant in Hong Kong.

香港 [政府] 對越南船民已經實施甄別政策。跟住嗰段越南話廣播，就係向佢哋講述呢個政策嘅內容。

This was then followed by a paragraph in Vietnamese, by a member of the boat people who were pending repatriation.

Bắt đầu từ nay, một chính sách mới về thuyền nhân Việt Nam đã được chấp hành tại Hồng Kông. Từ nay về sau, những thuyền nhân Việt Nam kiếm cách nhập cảnh Hồng Kông với thân phận những người di tản vì vấn đề kinh tế sẽ bị coi là những người nhập cảnh phi pháp. Là những người nhập cảnh phi pháp, họ sẽ không có chút khả năng nào để được đi định cư tại nước thứ ba, và họ sẽ bị giam cầm để chờ ngày giải về Việt Nam.

After that, the announcement ended with another sentence in Cantonese Chinese.

剛才嗰段越南話廣播，係向企圖進入香港嘅越南船民，講述香港對佢哋實施嘅甄別政策。

Meaning of the announcement in English

Quote
[The] Hong Kong [Government] has implemented the policy of 'Comprehensive Plan of Action' on Vietnamese boat people. The following Vietnamese-language announcement is going to elucidate to them the content of the policy...

... From now on, a new policy regarding Vietnamese boat people has been implemented in Hong Kong. From now on, those boat people from Vietnam seeking to immigrate into Hong Kong as immigrants due to economic reasons will be considered illegal immigrants. As illegal immigrants, they will not have the ability to settle in a third country, and they will be detained until repatriated to Vietnam...

...The Vietnamese-language announcement, which has just been broadcast, elucidated the policy of 'Comprehensive Plan of Action' that the Hong Kong Government implements on the Vietnamese boat people who intend to enter Hong Kong.

The use of the phrase to refer to Vietnamese people

The announcement was aired frequently on RTHK, one of the most popular radio channels in Hong Kong. Due to the fact that the announcement was in a foreign language, it drew the attention of a lot of the audience in Hong Kong. Gradually, a lot of Hong Kong people remembered the pronunciation of the first phrase, "Bắt đầu từ nay". They often transliterated the phrase in Cantonese Chinese as "北漏洞拉" or "不漏洞拉", although the actual pronunciation is closer to "不竇杜拉". As more and more Hong Kong people learnt this Vietnamese phrase, they started to use its Cantonese transliteration to represent Vietnamese people.

However, this phrase is usually considered as derogatory, or even racist. Some Hong Kong people that do not know the meaning and the background of this Vietnamese phrase often think that it has a positive meaning like "Sawadee" in Thai, or as "your attention", "dear friends", "dear compatriot", "dear comrades", or even "hello". If they use this Vietnamese phrase to greet a Vietnamese person, the Vietnamese person would probably either be offended, or not understand what is going on.

Portrayal In Hong Kong Media

Early portrayal

The first recorded instance of the usage of "Bắt đầu từ nay" in Hong Kong entertainment programmes was during the 1980s, when it was used in a segment of the light entertainment show Enjoy Yourself Tonight. In the segment, a fight in the refugee camp was parodied, and two actors, using the stage names "Bắt đầu" and "Từ nay", roughed up one of the audience (played by an actor) in the "legislative council" meeting who was well known for creating commotions during Legislative Council meetings.

1990s

During the 1990s, some asylum seekers managed to use self-made tools to cut through the fence around the refugee camps and escaped. This incident was replayed on RTHK's news parody programme Headline News. In the video, the phrase was split into the following
*Bắt đầu? (不漏?) (phonetically close to "but lau", which means "leakless?", a reference to the supposedly high security measures in the refugee camp)
*từ! (洞!) (phonetically close to "dong", which means "hole!", a reference to the holes that were cut and used as escape routes).
*nay! (拉!) (phonetically close to "lai", which means "arrested!", a reference to the eventual arrest of the escapees).

2000s

In the early 2000s, Vietnamese cuisine became popular in Hong Kong, and the phrase, which had faded out of memory after the resolution of the refugee problem, resurfaced in an advertising campaign for a Vietnamese restaurant.

During the 2003 SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, Eric Kot (zh-t|葛民輝), a local comedian, phoenetically spoofed the original refugee policy announcement to parody the SARS crisis.

Text of the Spoof Announcement

The format of the spoof was similar to the original announcement.

越南政府已經向香港市民入境限制。越南政府已經向香港疫民實施隔離政策，以下嘅一段廣東話廣播，係向企圖進入越南嘅香港疫民，講述呢個政策嘅內容:

(Translation: The Vietnamese Government has initiated entry restrictions on Hong Kong citizens. The following Cantonese announcement is intended to announce the policy to those Hong Kong epidemic area citizens who are attempting to enter Vietnam)

This was then followed by a paragraph in Cantonese (with a comical Vietnamese accent).

一入就拉，疊起一堆，莫問到越南，驗疫執行大行動。唔理肥瘦，請勿進越南，遵守入境奉告，強闖者入境隨時係咁大，帶銀來入境照「烹」，藏匿者將公刊樣貌，發現會被控，兼大碌竹蹦，傳播者被監禁，之後照踢出越南！

(Translation: [All visitors will face] Immediate arrest upon entry and be stacked up in a pile. Don't even think about coming to Vietnam, [as there is a] giant campaign to enforce the quarantine. [We] Don't care whether you are fat or thin, don't enter Vietnam. Follow [this] immigration advice. Those who force their way into Vietnam will end their life right there and then. We will drive away even those who bring money into our borders. [Those who] hide will have their looks published [in public gazettes] . [Those who are] Discovered will be charged [with a crime] , and be beaten silly by a huge bamboo stick. Spreaders [of the illness] will be imprisoned, and evicted from Vietnam forthwith!)

After that, the announcement ended with another sentence in normal-toned Cantonese Chinese.

以上係越南政府已經向香港嘅市民入境檢疫嘅政策。

(Translation: The preceding announcement was from the Vietnamese Government in an effort to elucidate its policy of immigration quarantine to the Hong Kong people)

ee also

*Boat people
*Comprehensive Plan of Action
*Vietnamese people in Hong Kong

External links

* [http://www.rthk.org.hk/classicschannel/audio/80s_0030.asx A recording of the actual "Bắt đầu từ nay" announcement that was broadcast on RTHK]
* [http://www.bradfordlee.com/fun/vietnam.wma A recording of the spoof "Bắt đầu từ nay" announcement by Eric Kot]