美国权威杂志《财富》（《Fortune》）于1995年一度预言，回归将令香港死亡。但回归十年后，最新出版的《时代》周刊，终在十三年后为此言论来了个迟来的大平反，不仅承认其姊妹杂志《财富》当年报道错误，更直认香港比从前更有活力。: i$ e! Q; x% o
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最新出版的《时代》周刊，以25页的篇幅探讨回归十年香港的变化，并以“阳光灿烂中见阴霾（Sunshine with Clouds）”为点题。对于《财富》杂志当年惊世的《香港之死》报道，《时代》坦诚认错，承认姊妹杂志完全是“错误地”及“差劣地”作出推测。《时代》解释香港过去十年经历金融风暴、禽流感、SARS、市民为基本法廿三条上街示威等……当世人以为香港贵为福地的气数已尽，香港却一一熬过来。 ( i. j- h. z: d, H. i6 _" M- F1 G 1 @& i) p5 S- S. S5 f 离回归十周年尚余三个星期，《时代》指出香港近期的股市屡创新高，物业格价亦稳步上扬，正值阳光灿烂时，不过晴空之中却有阴霾：香港前景仍受许多不明朗因素影响。 9 J# n2 @, j8 ~ w | / O! K" }' t3 D( P& V" Y- x- `5 D7 o2 |6 a6 Z* o July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 6 ^& E e$ `; }& L3 o. \7 A. ?! k) [% H1 \1 _0 z . y9 z5 ~9 @+ F# O$ |' u. OFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 5 J! F/ y7 j( K- x2 w5 q 0 s- F2 O- ~* I. e+ q3 [2 Z _2 H0 i" R" H% x0 N " T, M9 l) u/ NMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. # Q7 @; f9 C6 P$ I. p2 T# P / J' U7 Y* r# I+ ^, P7 X5 _ i: [* b/ u( T( W" p The Expat Exodus & |+ {8 }( A3 Z' E
On July 1, 1997, as Hong Kong waved goodbye to its colonial rulers on board the HMS Britannia, pessimists predicted the city's expatriate professionals would follow. & d) i* C& z1 B3 F" [3 c; ~ , e, k* L0 ~/ M$ [* p
/ U% ~4 j; |4 U, k# e5 t% _5 m, j' ^6 Q7 [ Emigration $ C z6 L* d7 ?* g7 `1 AJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 1 J8 C$ X2 C6 C; e1 b) J$ F ( R9 q) K, s2 d9 n( z : _2 q6 |7 [3 d z% Q" `! C
《时代》分析，香港人仍在身份认同及定位上感到迷失。港人对祖国又敬又怕，进而希望争取民主独立，这种心态却令政策陷于胶着状态。保守派与民主派的对立，造成政治麻痹：上至经济下至污染的议题，双方都不愿妥协。 + @( ~/ m5 D! c4 V" C$ B3 [1 s . {; T2 W Y6 z1 m; x& j
《时代》称，港人在争取民主方面的想法过于“实际”。有权投票选行政长官的八百名选委，大部分来自商界，他们普遍认为普选特首会引入平民领导人、令香港变成福利社会；另一方面又怕惹怒中央，影响自身利益。 ' j. X0 U) K) I2 b1 v$ E& O3 u $ d' {+ E* H, X W5 X4 z 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
! E v4 i. c% uThe People's Liberation Army 5 U x6 O4 ^0 `1 v! c/ m' k& eA 1995 Fortune magazine article famously predicted the "Death of Hong Kong" following the handover, prophesying that PLA soldiers would be a visible, ominous presence on Hong Kong's streets. ) I! c, _- a R( Q6 y g$ r, L' T5 j; P& Y$ E/ [. E
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Victoria Park. Queen's Pier. Stanley. While many symbols of British rule vanished overnight after the handover — teams of workmen removed the royal seal from post offices, police stations and institutions like the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club — Hong Kong's colonial place names endure. 0 o t2 ?* p/ }9 b8 ?1 ~5 q) k! I7 }& O: s9 t
# p% O% C. Z2 B( W5 |) j ! ^. m) h1 t5 c% R; P. \) KMilton Friedman, the late Nobel Prize-winning economist, predicted that within two years of the handover China would introduce capital controls and replace the territory's currency. Wrong. ( n& Z( L, |+ J6 ~ M4 C3 B- i! l. ]' \# w" ]
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With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 2 @) U O- Q; G3 x$ Y8 O 8 E+ [6 j- S" ^ x/ w$ K3 r: O* B8 N
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. # V: ]/ J& }3 q% L/ l2 [; }) w8 v% C2 P) i
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Contrary to dire predictions, Hong Kong hasn't yet lost its economic edge to cheaper cities on the mainland or to cleaner, more orderly Singapore.
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