As for our economic prospects, now is not the time to buy that pied de terre in Homantin, according to Palko's crystal ball. Next year, property will be a lot cheaper. 'There will be rules to sort out the property market. Prices will fall,' she said. Kwong, however, is more starry-eyed about our future. The economy will keep on booming and economics will carry on being more important than politics to people. Buy now, he urged, if you want to get into the housing market, as prices can only go up and up.

Governor chris patten Palko: Patten's days in the spotlight are not going to end on Tuesday morning. In fact, William Hague, the new leader of Britain's Conservative Party should watch his back. 'He [Patten] is going to go back to England to play a big part in English politics. In fact, I think he could be the next Conservative prime minister.' But there's a warning, too: Patten is very thin-skinned and over-sensitive to criticism, and that could cause him trouble if he doesn't take care. 'He must not overreact to that. If he does, he could lose everything he has worked towards.' Patten could follow in the footsteps of Benjamin Disraeli and Winston Churchill be a prime minister and a writer too. 'I see him writing a book, many books. Perhaps not tomorrow, but one day.' Kwong: Patten will never be Britain's prime minister. He doesn't have the chin or the mouth for it. These parts of the face are significant for everyone at Patten's age of 53. The good news is they show a prosperous and happy old age. He also has a 'good nose, which means fame and fortune in middle age'. His long ear lobes show Lavender and the girls take good care of him. Patten should write his autobiography and take advantage of his 'versatile face' to work as a middle man. In one sense, at least, Patten has a huge future ahead of him. 'We may call him fat now, but he will get even fatter. But he is earth, like Tung Chee-hwa, which means he should never go on a diet. It isn't good for luck.' tung chee-hwa Palko: Tung is not going to be in the hot seat for long. 'He is the one I see disappearing. He will be out before the end of the year.' And it is all his own fault. 'He is a very insensitive man. He is going to say something or do something that will annoy everybody. He has no idea about politics - he is a businessman.' Tung needs to learn to be more tactful and also to speak for himself. 'He allows others to take over and relies on their guidance and opinions, even to his disadvantage.' It isn't all bad, though. Tung's business will unaffected by his political fortunes. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. 'He could be good in a different job. But this is not the right job.' Kwong: Tung's political success is literally written all over his face - he has a great chin, which means a lot of people are behind him. He also has two firm lines around his mouth which is also excellent because it means 'people will listen to him. You must have those to be senior in politics or no one will believe you.' There is, however, a mark under his lips which indicates minor problems in the future, especially between the ages of 61 and 63 (Tung is 60 this year). His problems mainly will be over unhelpful subordinates. But his mouth is lucky, which means Hong Kong will be lucky. It is a righteous, conservative face. Tung is a good father and a careful business man. However, it is just as well that Hong Kong has already become a wealthy place. 'With this face, he could not be a leader of a poor country. He isn't aggressive enough.' martin lee chu-ming Palko: If he plays his cards right, Lee has plenty to look forward to. 'But he must be careful and step back in the next few months if he is to achieve long-term success. His time will come.' He will certainly remain a leader. 'He is a constant driving force and will want to change the lifestyle of those around him, for whom he feels responsible.' There is no sound of prison doors clanking shut or worse, but Lee should not to risk other people's freedom. Demonstrations right after the handover, for example, are not recommended. 'If he is not careful, he could provoke violence. He could do more harm than good. Why fight something that hasn't happened yet? That way he is making it happen.' Kwong: 'You would expect he might lose after July, but actually he has a lot of luck left.' But not quite as much luck as Tung Chee-hwa. 'He will never be Chief Executive because he doesn't have a wide chin.' But in politics and law, Lee has a bright future. His luck will rub off on the Democratic Party. He will play a 'significant role' in the SAR and will always get help from outside the territory. The one cloud on the horizon is indicated in his eyebrows. There will be problems with partners, always with men rather than women. His eyes and long nose are good but show Lee is both stubborn and subjective, hard-pressed to see life from another's point of view. The worst part of his life is behind him. 'He has bad ears, but that often only means a bad childhood.' emily lau wai-hing Palko: No one should write off Lau yet. 'Her future is golden if she handles things sensibly.' Lau has the talent of getting everything she wants, and making it seem effortless, but the clue to her future might lie in something she tried in the past and never followed through - back to journalism perhaps? The smart thing to do, as with Martin Lee, is to hold back for a while to wait and see. But even if she doesn't do that, Lau will bounce back. 'She will always surface whatever situations she may find herself in. If she does go to jail, she'll come out again. Age will not be a problem for her.' Kwong: Lau has lots of hair, thick eyebrows, thick hair - and they indicate 'three richnesses'. She is vain, subjective and stubborn, so much so that had she been born a man, she might have ended up a murderer. As a woman and a politician, such feistiness has been very useful. 'But it means she attracts gossip.' Her face shows that, when she has good luck, things go brilliantly, but when things go wrong, she finds it very difficult to get over them. However, her luck will hold for the next eight years at least, although she will never be a senior political figure. Her coarse, loud voice - so helpful for snappy soundbites - has a drawback. 'She will definitely end up divorced, but she will probably remarry.' anson chan fang on-shan Palko: Chan positively glows with good fortune and a good aura. As well as guaranteed promotion, perhaps to replace Tung Chee-hwa, 'she is probably the woman I see taking a major role in Hong Kong'. She is also a 'a very lovely lady, very spiritual, who wants everybody to be happy.' With her in charge, we are all better off because she has something very rare in public life, a conscience. Not only that but Chan could be the one to bring Hong Kong's divergent political groups together. 'She has a healing quality about her, even if she is not aware of it.' Chan could be Hong Kong's fairy godmother. She faces no conflict, 'just a long, happy life.' Kwong: Chan is a dragon and 1997 is going to be a bad year for dragons. The worst is yet to come: autumn until November are going to be hard. In fact, the next two years are going to be a struggle for Chan, but if she gets over them, the rest of her life will be easy. 'There will be pressure from above and below. Those above will not grant her any power and, as a result, those below will not listen to her.' The lines around her mouth are uneven and too short for her to ever become No 1 in the territory, but her eyes explain why she has made it so far anyway: she is good with people, and very flexible. One way to maximise her luck in the coming, awkward period, is to leave Hong Kong for a while.

Jiang Zemin Palko: Hong Kong people need to learn to give this man the benefit of the doubt. 'His heart is in the right place.' He does not intend to interfere too much with the running of Hong Kong. The main thing to remember is that he is a strong man, and expects to be treated as such. 'He has to be handled diplomatically. If he is handled correctly, there is nothing to fear. There is strength, but there are also hidden forces at work deciding Jiang's actions and thoughts. 'There is another man very much linked with him, a right-hand man.' His political future is assured, so the much mooted power struggle in Beijing seems to be off the agenda for a while. 'He will stay on top. He is well protected.' Kwong: Jiang has a very good chin, like his predecessors Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong, and that explains why he has made it to the top job in China. His face indicates he will stay there for a while yet, and that is good for China. The thing that will cause him the most problem are his subordinates, shown by his uneven eyebrows, but he can handle that, too. He was not always so strong. His forehead shows that the first 30 years were hard for him. His parents named him to shine at this time - all those with the character 'ze', (the same as Mao Zedong) in their names are destined to do well between 1984-2004.

Additional reporting Enid Tsui