ROD MICKLEBURGH
British Columbia Bureau; With a report from Campbell Clark in Ottawa
Friday, July 28, 2000

Vancouver -- A second large planeload of Chinese migrants left Canada for China yesterday, bringing to nearly 200 the number of last summer's boat people sent home.

After many months behind bars at the city's old provincial jail, the latest batch of 90 deportees, wearing cord handcuffs, was bundled aboard a chartered Boeing 747 at the Prince George airport.

As they headed for the airport in a flotilla of school buses, many could be heard shouting in apparent anguish.

But Canadian immigration officials insisted these were shouts of pleasure at the prospect of returning to China.

"What you heard had nothing to do with pain or compliance or anything like that," said Rob Johnston, of Canadian Citizenship and Immigration.

"They know they are going home and are quite pleased reflecting on that. There was quite a positive mood among the migrants."

Some of those being sent back are among a group of migrants who were captured after a daring escape from the Prince George jail only last month in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid deportation.

Others are known to have taken part in riots at both the Prince George facility and a detention centre in the Fraser Valley, where they were earlier jailed.

However, officials said there were no incidents as the 84 men and six women boarded the plane.

The jumbo jet, hired for $700,000 from the United States, took off from Prince George shortly before noon, refuelled in Whitehorse and then headed for an undisclosed location in China.

An earlier flight, also carrying 90 migrants, left for China on May 10.

Both operations are the largest mass deportation exercises by Canadian immigration officials in recent memory.

A total of 196 migrants from the four boats that were intercepted off Canada's west coast last summer have now been deported, leaving more than 400 passengers and crew members still in North America under a variety of circumstances.

CIC spokeswoman Therese Vermette said in Vancouver that at least 50 more migrants are ready to be deported, but necessary documents from the Chinese government have not yet arrived.

All told, 599 individuals were on the four derelict boats, organized by human smugglers known as snakeheads. Except for nine Korean crew members from the second boat, now on trial in Victoria, all hail from south-east China.

Most immediately claimed refugee status, but only 16 have won the right to stay in Canada.

Social activist Victor Wong criticized Canadian immigration for deporting so many people all at once.

Mr. Wong said the migrants asked to be sent back in small groups, hoping to attract lighter punishment in China.

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