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。 ' H2 U. V' J& l+ q - ^- m! P; F# q. k% I+ H' W2 ^; K9 D8 ~$ U. B
3 p5 z- J/ k% |
( [ _/ I0 H' P" v 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。: }! L. }1 t: C/ H' z+ N
* ]. g, |* O1 f6 [2 x
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 }: O2 s8 q3 X) {. ~ 0 F' b5 g0 y4 ]: `7 Y8 d! D5 | ! j' X0 e T/ c0 l: HJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. . V4 ~; V2 `+ c, O) f- D ; v5 L& w. t# L$ v9 }! A' E. B8 ^7 ]% U) \ 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.5 h8 P0 ?7 i Y$ |* E. J9 o/ Q
, T5 e: u/ g. a3 z. Z5 q% _# B& l. E0 D s7 K1 l 7 ~3 P( t) `3 F9 |9 S; M; rMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. w1 N" c; `* b% g0 c5 N1 _8 h# G! \+ ~
+ {+ C \" J3 c( i% j1 [ " M) R" O+ e: V9 ~1 n) f0 h! C5 s OThe Expat Exodus 4 w2 }( Q' j h' a+ D
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 K4 F- P3 |6 `: x; ~ " m: N3 s, y s# D1 E5 F1 o
/ g+ ~$ c. l5 N! j; A/ Z5 n- k" V) k+ z0 V8 b) F Emigration + d3 @1 |5 V1 R/ Y( w7 z0 oJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. % K- K6 w. e: L& g , e; U* ]9 | q0 H" v5 A! G
' C% K ] E/ h8 `3 C& F
《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。 - w4 C- A4 ^7 z3 u* \6 {1 E+ O 1 K1 G! G$ ^8 R7 C1 V0 B
《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。3 G2 A$ ]0 D% ?/ x
: y$ }) U. I1 R7 Z4 V6 N, EThe People's Liberation Army 2 K% f _' ?" i3 E! X) {8 v/ U3 N5 c4 f
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. 3 d4 S1 o) `" }7 \" c1 y* ~4 ~% ~# g/ T3 G Y1 X
9 ^( E* g# A7 j1 S }0 \: }4 w. Z: r. Z& yVictoria 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. & J+ m6 M% p( R! R, ^, Z' ~* E) B, ~
) c2 W8 h7 _- e; H
5 l+ \' x7 s0 M; f/ M ( G' a1 Q, e9 P% o9 q3 MMilton 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. , U3 o' |7 P" L
h( s3 @- x7 }1 I6 u# o) ^7 C
+ J7 M1 b) X5 {' r; D) Y# F& I; `$ w0 ^, }/ d- `7 a
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.: A Y* S; M! ]/ d* M/ G! [' H
# r3 j& M" `& V W; | 8 a3 }1 G4 k( I! H# I5 {3 iHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 1 {* Z2 o$ r$ a8 A* V& l* v; _0 k; S# C# S M
S- w2 r) O7 B% {; ]) s4 ]/ m) i2 e+ y2 v( `
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.
' E. B8 ^7 ]% U) \
/ Z5 n- k" V) k+ z0 V8 b) F
; `$ w0 ^, }/ d- `7 a
) s4 ]/ m) i2 e+ y2 v( `