The harbingers of doom have been silenced. Despite grim predictions, the approach of 1997 has not seen Hong Kong swept by a tide of lawlessness. For years commentators said criminals would seize on instability caused by the end of British rule and the imminent handover to expand their nefarious activities.
The reality? Hong Kong's crime rate is at its lowest for 10 years.
Latest figures released by Commissioner of Police Eddie Hui Ki-on show a 12.5 per cent fall in the first 11 months of 1996.
Compared with other large cities, Hong Kong is one of the safest places to live in the world. The territory's police force solves more than half the crimes committed, compared with the Metropolitan Police in London's detection rate of only 15 per cent.
In the first nine months of the year, violent crime fell 12 per cent, robberies dropped 32 per cent and car thefts 41 per cent. There were 14 per cent less thefts and 19 per cent less burglaries.
The crime story of 1996 is, therefore, a success story. And it is one Secretary for Security Peter Lai Hing-ling is proud of.