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。" d- W- u. t* {% ?( c: Q
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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。 & d3 j8 c `+ `. s4 N3 l2 j; C , f5 K% }8 ~4 U& t. E$ E
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。- s4 ]& b: v7 ]
: T; V; e1 H) L: G3 w 0 c7 e" F9 q1 ~5 l S, l! \' {July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.0 W" C; R5 u1 \5 i* n
' S) t( ~& n+ s2 ?1 V ' m a. e2 X% q* o$ D9 nFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.! s4 }: B& L9 e5 _) E2 L6 I
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: u) t5 m. T! `, U# o8 c 7 `$ J) n* P) F5 C. zMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ! ~: j2 U( O: Z9 ?/ V! R
1 Q" b6 Q7 c5 @9 ?3 r$ z, O , {' x D, O; _5 A& \7 aThe Expat Exodus 9 ^1 Q* D. _ N6 a1 r
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. 1 `2 B) k; x% \0 }- S# c1 ~* | p& I( P 6 ^3 H# Y1 b" M5 d
2 `: d4 T8 f+ ?1 s* E/ [: } H 2 r- U: N, S7 u4 }9 {; C* Y! UEmigration 1 }8 v6 q' N5 W% t& i
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. " ~, B6 R. A6 {8 R( B* P% ~8 [, U* D
8 y. ]& L- m) @' e/ x1 E1 G 8 b5 {7 v' X$ H' n" t 《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。2 Z7 y' L7 i8 V. e
% G4 a8 P" z/ G# T+ A6 BThe People's Liberation Army / W2 [ e/ }% ?1 ?, Z+ t
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. * t( A0 |4 U+ I Y & {/ K, m1 t; P3 R 8 Z# J8 e( \$ `: R1 p4 J% w ! t# e9 I% [. g6 D" b- _- E. 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. $ d" N4 B7 w! I$ [$ ]2 l
1 H: H9 R( p2 v6 n4 {$ X* e# ~7 I: A+ J6 y" U" C ! t; p; `, `! D2 j; QMilton 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. - p( V1 `9 L0 _/ v m2 F
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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.5 i3 {1 L# a8 x& k, }! w
) O' }0 }0 Q* a* o0 o# L ) |) b6 ]! w6 P* QHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. + v7 P) }/ M, ^, O 3 o& E9 n- m& L4 G6 K, e; g ; ]$ R0 L8 M& D" P8 k# ^3 L8 W5 F' u& Q2 B. \
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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