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。4 K# R' r5 t) W5 @8 R8 Z
& ?5 ^1 e/ f( R; l( {. i) r7 _8 }$ s
0 Z- H' t8 L0 E( \. x6 d
. \5 O: r& B) I4 {9 Z$ _+ _2 b
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。) S. C6 i3 o, V+ H9 ~/ Q7 @1 l n
% c; e6 W5 [8 M" R* s: z% u$ k
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。# {: n/ ?3 [# I4 ^
0 S5 l/ p7 Y( z0 y ! P" _- F8 `% m* |3 mJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong., V. W4 q; ~# l) A t
7 q! ^( `2 U4 @: B& r% o: V5 [9 U- b" h1 G/ Q( Y2 n; ]4 { Feb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.2 M, h5 j2 w2 h, i9 D
2 r1 }+ T9 y. \# k: m# S; Q4 u( A4 Q
3 i" s) P' N1 T/ k/ a 6 q7 ^3 n& S# HMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ; f, q) k: N! p5 w+ V! A
9 \/ X) W9 X4 L4 {1 @* H : j6 U; ~% M" n- g The Expat Exodus 4 |, w4 j, I% y7 u6 D( D- dOn 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. $ n. G/ B1 L- R) O$ I+ {: ~
+ r/ J% g, ?& Z
" |; x6 W6 [( t 3 O* Z- N/ H+ R$ \8 N2 eEmigration ) o0 t, R, X) z8 DJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. . [6 `5 b4 o5 X ^- U' \6 e% m , U/ {9 b( u( A8 z
- Z: x3 d: I# a' r. P( l 《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。" ?, Z; E* |8 y+ @6 f3 a- `. c+ O
% E. d3 t( ?; l5 ]$ A The People's Liberation Army ( o9 P5 m7 R& V e, Z' A4 @5 K
A 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. 6 ]( W& k" a4 @# X$ R
% B1 q7 ], C. v7 {& p3 i: y# F. U7 M" Q' ?$ E ' `( R \/ @ o1 L- n n, dVictoria 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. 5 ?# s) C; t* o( G
7 M# E. E- [4 {8 W
, w0 o! Q0 ?3 h, w ?0 _4 w! n 4 }( F* ~$ ^# o
Milton 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. + ~8 c4 c: f/ g8 x5 q
+ P O# Z! `: u+ q$ d3 X! E0 J , j8 ~+ A _2 A& E0 _' x e/ ?+ g0 Z |9 z2 S( a% u$ R
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 4 e2 Q5 o* z0 v$ L. {2 `& j3 |# V4 h7 Y! ]; q: i) L) t / e7 j% @& T. `9 {8 R, Y. i) K! OHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. : E. H* o9 W. s3 Z& y" o# b6 O V7 A( O+ P- u1 n/ Z$ G+ V. L: Y7 s( E 2 P8 V; i/ \; z& o9 |9 \
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.
9 U- b" h1 G/ Q( Y2 n; ]4 {
: j6 U; ~% M" n- g
% E. d3 t( ?; l5 ]$ A
4 }( F* ~$ ^# o
e/ ?+ g0 Z |9 z2 S( a% u$ R
2 P8 V; i/ \; z& o9 |9 \