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。( m7 u/ ]! J! X# G
! m; |' W7 c2 S7 S6 E 1 o* C) I; x0 o6 q Z2 v" ^6 K- A2 W( S \2 P0 v# c
7 ]5 Y6 s. K% E
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。9 f0 a% y. Q0 R+ x/ N; j# }9 h
7 t* z7 v' x! s9 @5 r$ r 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。 # a) _: ?9 U8 Q9 M( D+ z8 T 0 c' z/ R$ j2 f* Y) P8 \+ u : [( ~8 G0 H4 m0 e6 o+ D! \July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong., ]( D' W% D# y% ^# L
3 V4 ^' F4 R! y 3 [0 P# K! c/ hFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. r' n" }' d9 ~( y0 T; Z/ i 3 b" L/ _: z! [1 {; f1 L' `+ k9 Y; X4 K0 ~! b ' V& E% J, \! R+ ~6 NMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 4 ]" |/ w/ c$ ]2 j % e7 D. D& T' ], a- v% f) D B# q* g4 B1 v: z; t* j The Expat Exodus 9 X2 D# p% ?+ W( ]
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. / t" m; k I4 F" o * H8 t% s" K3 b8 n
1 s9 B& g, ?' Z# n/ Y' x* }% `4 n # c( r/ G7 R/ F) E" s Emigration + H* c5 J1 X6 z: G% i, F
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. + | q$ J% m4 D' N/ [) t' N
. b7 e$ k* ^' C 1 K; J; C5 i$ k/ 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。 $ s1 {' [5 i8 ?3 d & n1 F* l3 N8 ? S 《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。" _ V0 R$ ~0 G% [3 K
8 D' ?: | ?% O |# L The People's Liberation Army 4 C8 t/ R2 g V4 K) \# PA 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. . E, ]- c |9 ~2 f7 a8 G7 c; a$ \4 o; W. a; Q3 a$ l; e
3 x0 p7 `- j8 S* H 2 a; z& @1 T* [: C, J( F8 q5 tVictoria 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. . L7 x6 c; m1 Y3 P2 C' J . Q, q9 B, Y i& H) b5 P2 _+ N# D* U6 E+ J6 p) h + G7 H5 u3 ]5 w) nMilton 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. ) U9 ?& L: Z' {8 c( J( I; B0 ?" E
* @: \! L1 \( J. r+ C2 E
4 f8 a! m$ L: G 5 K* d/ s/ q$ S% z3 U5 l C
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. * t& R+ r3 \- t 9 P0 A- u: c" L" ? o. k- |( n6 E/ v5 w% `6 ]: A# }4 A
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 1 d" l; ~: w" {; Y. t / s8 T7 S! f( e \ , @6 Y% N& F) I 5 ? P ?3 U. B* ]" t/ R/ VContrary to dire predictions, Hong Kong hasn't yet lost its economic edge to cheaper cities on the mainland or to cleaner, more orderly Singapore.
) D B# q* g4 B1 v: z; t* j
# c( r/ G7 R/ F) E" s
8 D' ?: | ?% O |# L
5 K* d/ s/ q$ S% z3 U5 l C
. k- |( n6 E/ v5 w% `6 ]: A# }4 A