Bat lau dung laai ( or ; ) is a Hong Kong Cantonese corruption of the Vietnamese phrase bắt đầu từ nay, meaning "from now on" ( = begin, start; = "from", = "now", ). The phrase was made famous in the 1980s and 1990s in Hong Kong, due to a Vietnamese-language radio public service announcement that was broadcast, nearly hourly, on public radio broadcaster RTHK. Background of the radio announcement The broadcast was first made on 16 August 1988, which announced the government's decision to implement a screening policy that would separate refugees from non-refugees (or boat people with economic motivations). The statement was read by Chung Wai-ming, a well-known RTHK radio personality. The Vietnamese portion of the broadcast was read by a Vietnamese boat person who was about to be repatriated. Content of the announcement Original text of the announcement The radio announcement began with a sentence in Cantonese, 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。Hoeng1 gong2 [zing3 fu2] deoi3 jyut6 naam4 syun4 man4 ji5 ging1 sat6 si1 jan1 bit6 zing3 caak3. Gan1 zyu6 go2 dyun6 jyut6 naam4 waa2 gwong2 bo3, zau6 hai6 hoeng3 keoi5 dei2 gong2 seot6 ni1 go3 zing3 caak3 ge3 noi6 jung4. This was then followed by a paragraph in Vietnamese. 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. 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㗎。Gong1 coi4 go2 dyun6 jyut6 naam4 waa2 gwong2 bo3, hai6 hoeng3 kei5 tou4 zeon3 jap6 hoeng1 gong2 ge3 jyut6 naam4 syun4 man4, gong2 seot6 hoeng1 gong2 deoi3 keoi5 dei2 sat6 si1 ge3 jan1 bit6 zing3 caak3 gaa2. Meaning of the announcement in English The first sentence in Cantonese Chinese: The message in Vietnamese: The final sentence in Cantonese Chinese: Use of the phrase in Hong Kong Due to the frequency of the broadcast, many Hong Kong people came to learn the phrase. Some, however, mistook the phrase