Following is the full script of the Chief Executive's five minute summary of the 1997 Policy Address to be broadcast on radio and television this evening:

Good Evening,

Today I have delivered the first policy address of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. I have set out our goals for the next five years and the programme that my Administration will follow.

Our goals have been formed after taking a long term view of the prospects for Hong Kong in this region and in the world. We have looked at the increasingly competitive global economy, an economy which is being transformed by information technology, and at the momentous changes that continue to take place in China. By building on our strengths, and by contributing to our country's progress, we can draw benefit for ourselves. By fostering a culture that embraces the new technology to add high value to all that we do, we can secure prosperity for the future. With prosperity secured, we can continue to respond with care and compassion to the needs of our community.

My Administration will work to preserve Hong Kong's special characteristics - the rule of law; open and accountable government; prudent fiscal policies; low and predictable taxes; personal, social and economic freedoms, and a civil service that is efficient and honest. We will also steadily develop democratic institutions of government. All this is guaranteed in the Basic Law. From the strength that these foundations give us; with the strong financial position we are in; with the support that we have from our country, and with the prospects we have for our economy, I am confident at being able to achieve practical goals to benefit the community. I have set out a wide ranging programme in my Address, but want to focus on four issues here.

The first of these is housing. We will build over 85,000 flats a year from 1999, and will be able to sustain that progress consistently for many years to come. We will start selling 25,000 public flats to their tenants on an affordable basis next year, the first step to selling 250,000 flats within ten years. Seventy per cent of families will own their own home within 10 years. We will reduce the waiting time for public housing to no more than three years by 2005.

To support our housing programme, we will be investing heavily in railway development, to bring fast, high capacity, environmentally friendly transport to major population centres.

In the past we have invested heavily in tertiary education. Now we will devote attention to quality and excellence in basic education. We will set up a $5 billion Quality Education Fund to give schools more flexibility to develop quality teaching. We will strengthen language teaching; greatly expand the use of information technology in schools; and work to advance the professional standing of teaching. We will be carrying out a comprehensive review of the education system, to ensure it will serve Hong Kong's children well into the next century, and we will encourage learning about the history and culture of our country.

For the elderly, CSSA payments will be increased by $380 per month starting from next financial year. We will also be improving health and welfare services to the elderly on a comprehensive basis across the territory.

Business vitality is essential to achieving all that we hope for our community. We will work to strengthen Hong Kong's competitiveness and add value to our business. We aim to secure Hong Kong as the leading financial centre for China and as a regional centre for innovation. We will strive to improve the environment we live in , and to ensure that our city continues to attract and retain people of quality, vision and ability in the new era ahead.

Hong Kong has a bright future. I ask each and every one of you, with the same sense of responsibility and commitment that you show to your own families, to join with me in building Hong Kong into a better home for all of us.