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。/ U: |1 k: Z, w. \1 `1 B& c. K
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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。% ~# z" o7 X7 P, s8 p
: y* J+ c2 s* q |7 S& Z( U6 V 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。* z& w; w8 j w Y. ?( p
# ^2 w n4 o: I: ?; a0 B5 V. e9 { ! Y( v# [: j% CJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. ; z- ^8 _ n! W1 p) h% t. [, c& A3 c$ i4 G/ X6 {$ y/ Y ! y. _! P* N& r J6 g. x" [1 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. , }* s6 ~$ u, t ' ]* E0 P7 f, T; \% x* b: R3 P* W/ k/ h 7 y+ I% p& J- ~" ~; @5 g March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ) L6 ]( Y6 M" ]( \6 v9 v& y7 V) q7 C% T0 u) _ + @- ~6 I" Q( [( JThe Expat Exodus ' L7 @5 i4 s2 g) Q- XOn 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. 2 B. z( I1 O3 A* X' X
. M Z0 i' j8 V. p s2 A) W# ~8 ^8 w% k$ M2 ? 2 W- e+ v+ x" y t' K& G5 o Emigration 2 j% D5 m, s' B# JJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. : l, \- I" J: q # c+ V A+ B! O7 A: {1 P . ]. {/ { y1 ~4 C1 M: D 《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。9 d$ c% b) p0 n4 V# f9 f
3 _' |& F; A1 x0 _5 P 《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。 ! C1 V! b! q- K $ M4 X* N; k8 X1 g) x3 c 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
# L1 ~4 ] |: s: k4 Q$ T; Q9 oThe People's Liberation Army ; _3 a" v( }9 V4 ~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. 0 |: b3 ]# n/ ?) x" Y" n3 R
( m6 x I# B I# \ ( _/ a4 N+ y+ }& z0 A1 \ % B$ z/ G$ @7 c) sVictoria 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 b* V% h6 ]* `% f
! |* L6 e& {* K3 r5 Q; u0 k, c3 ], @* L% n W6 A. r/ t O* Z0 F: l: E- TMilton 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. ' T/ c6 a# ]0 O1 s
9 b+ h$ e7 }) ~/ y- L4 S' G: f6 `- B" N2 T2 w" l " f. {( x/ [* C" H& k7 BWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. * W. V" {7 V9 V z- x- l$ x 3 D: c) G4 X6 C# s! b 0 J% S0 o: F4 Q0 z3 UHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 1 C# A$ }9 d, R: o8 s2 I+ t9 f( {
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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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