(BCTV) - Part 2

Yesterday, the News Hour took you inside China's Fujian province where most of the Chinese boat-people are coming from, for a first-hand look at the people who are desperate to get out and the "Snakeheads" who feed on that desperation. Today, Deborra Hope has the story of one would-be migrant who paid a fortune to get out and not long afterward, ended up right back where he started.

Deborra Hope, reporting: "One in six people in the world lives in one country - China. The majority of those 1.2 billion people are poor. They eke out a living off the water or the land. But these days, there are two realities in China. The one they've known for centuries and for some the new reality of the rich...fancy cars. huge new stores to spend their money in.

Those who aren't rich can watch the rich on TV. This is all they see - the western world at its most opulent. No poverty or unemployment here."

Voice of translator: "...We were told the life in Australia was really nice..."

Deborra Hope, reporting: "Like many in Fujian province, 19-year-old Sang Gui felt the only way to a better life was to leave China. His destination: Australia."

Voice of translator: "I saw the people in Australia live in beautiful houses...I thought I could do that too."

Deborra Hope, reporting: "He chose the illegal route to Australia: a smugglers' boat. He and 51 others paid 3000 up front to Snakeheads and the people smugglers put them on a boat they'll never forget. Their journey was supposed to take two weeks. It ended up taking a month."

Voice of translator: "The boat kept breaking down...people were scared and crying...but we were too far to turn back..."

Deborra Hope, reporting: "They finally reached the Australian coast on Christmas eve. But this would be no holiday. The boat was trapped in the shallows off a remote stretch of the northern coast. Sang Gui and his countrymen could see the promised land stretched out before them. But they were still a long way from shore."

Voice of translator: "I couldn't swim. I was very scared. One girl was swept away and drowned...We swam for six hours....a ranger found us on the beach."

Deborra Hope, reporting: "And took them directly to Australia's detention centre at Port Hedland where he and the others spent two weeks behind barbed wire. And then they were shipped back to China. No immigration hearings for them. And no apologies from Australia."

Phillip Ruddock, Australian Immigration Minister: "...They are not going to be adding to our economy positively...so they are going to be sent back..."

Deborra Hope, reporting: "So Sang Gui ends up back where he started. But he's lucky in one sense. The Chinese government didn't come down too hard on him."

Voice of translator: "I got 15 days in jail and a fine. So now my family's even deeper in debt."

Deborra Hope, reporting: "If you're surprised the Chinese government wasn't tougher on Sang Gui or others like him, some say you shouldn't be. Because they say China's official stand against human smuggling doesn't tell the whole story."

Mark Craig, human smuggling expert: "When they leave, the help the unemployment problem. They send money back home, which helps the local economy. So as a public security official, you work with one eye open, and one eye closed."

Deborra Hope, reporting: "No question Sang Gui's eyes are wide open. At 19, he's a criminal on both sides of the world. Would he do it again? In a heartbeat."

Anchor reads: "Australia appears to be taking a much harder line against these would-be immigrants than Canada has - so far at least. Thursday night, the News Hour takes a more in-depth look at what Australia is doing and the possible lessons there for us."