And then Malcolm Rifkind, his opposite number, the Foreign Minister in the UK, went back to Peking in January and also had a very successful visit, so I hope that will help us to clear away some of the problems we've had on the negotiating table over the last years, and I hope it will help us to work through some of the backlog of issues that all of us want to clear up before the middle of 1997.
I very much hope that we'll see faster progress in the coming months. We certainly need to do so.
Our economy has done much better than some of the gloomiest predictions suggested.
We've continued to grow, although not perhaps quite as fast as we'd all like. We've seen inflation edging down, although it's still I'm afraid - a bit too high, and we've seen unemployment - alas -going up a little (not as high as in other places) and reminding us of the absolutely crucial importance of us doing more in training and retraining to ensure that people if they lose a job - are only out of work for a very short while before they can get back into rewarding employment.
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We really it's our number one priority in the social area - we really want to ensure that everybody who wants to work in Hong Kong can do so, can make their contribution.
We've made progress too on the social side, more facilities for the elderly, more for the disabled, and I'm delighted that we've finally got in place the building blocks for our mandatory provident fund, which is going to be the source of financial support for the elderly in the future.
We really should make sure that the elderly get the fair deal which they're entitled to. After all, they made Hong Kong what it is today.
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We look ahead from that pretty successful year, and we look ahead I suppose over 500 days to the transition to Chinese sovereignty in the middle of 1997 - less than 500 days now and when I speak to you this time next year it'll be less than 150, so time is galloping past, and there's still quite a bit to do
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But I'm reasonably confident that given the better atmosphere between Britain and China we'll sort out the remaining problems. There's of course a big job to do for the Chief Executive Designate when he or she is chosen later in the year, and I know that whoever gets that crucial job, following me as the head of the first SAR government - I know that whoever gets that job will be able to count on the goodwill and support of the whole community.
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