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。- a) |# T: j, 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。) Z6 _/ ~: e( {- \
# y# i4 t2 @- v* ^ h& W2 a 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。' ~4 e0 R/ G3 j# Z, F
5 b7 c# ?* N7 o% Q, y2 ]1 ]! y , k& B) V) S3 _: u& e; a: vJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. ! x+ f7 W H2 W3 a/ @# \' I. s1 k4 L% N H. E& x- q( b : s9 x5 l' A9 E6 L0 c1 o 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.* _& F/ G: {! \
0 H9 ]$ @' T1 X6 N9 b* [/ a E0 U2 E r* J1 x! e+ {: }: u r% p9 [1 m# f- s March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 8 F+ v) g" n3 y, [) S6 p8 K( c; `5 C0 r$ ^0 `4 R ! |3 N8 N9 V4 P, jThe Expat Exodus . S! e' S! P5 d, a7 s
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. * j- \/ s' {- T4 s7 Q 1 |( U2 n T; y$ r
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 1 C' l4 t+ v0 [7 g$ E$ y , ]& w9 S9 a2 \* ]) z - e2 e! V, R' B- i$ E: p# t! i7 ]! O; m 《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。 5 \7 k- O6 t8 {( C9 r$ J; }. A / ?$ M: B* ?: x' C$ U! L 《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。" F" Y9 v, h' Q, s
6 ~# D, \* A2 p m- u: a T& R The People's Liberation Army * p: Q X3 H, D* ]- p! q3 z
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. $ ^! q2 ]# i: ~* s/ I: {
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9 N7 g8 n" y+ }' V% Z3 V) U 7 [" ^* \9 `# M/ xVictoria 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. / q9 k$ l: M% ^, A1 y, h
2 u: e& b3 J- c# \& k2 r % S! E# [! \( j1 ? 2 ~. H9 O$ @; Q0 F! SMilton 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. ) K8 a6 V. q6 c) d5 Y, Z) B: Y, H6 @8 f! G3 D L) U( f3 z4 j
. K$ J) f4 i" @& M6 E4 ?* { ! Q9 S8 R! i9 W' JWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. / _+ O% P, v' U3 l : |3 D3 G# J$ t) E# \2 u: W6 ? }$ J# i* s$ y3 x0 U1 B5 N% P
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. , X; g3 E6 x( T9 H! r; c2 L, V3 y& Z" p
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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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