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。8 C& i" k# s& H$ q: D
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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。, I4 H U* U! G1 f5 ^
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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 m, M9 s/ P/ L! w * r% ?9 W1 v" y; F( o2 R; u3 g) F7 k% [8 b) ^8 k- B July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.% P9 C1 q* k* i! F- b
) s7 Y; S; e8 G' q; D2 H2 G9 r/ {+ S0 w! u% 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.$ \& v! S# t; K0 R$ W! Y
6 e6 g- `, Q" u. q B5 M0 o2 ~: `# a, R, m 6 Y' P" V3 _% s; g' R March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. % p2 t$ M6 Q2 E
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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. ; i! K2 o& o: f6 v& ?' [
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. * g8 A" |. R/ Y1 P, C0 J1 @& G; I
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* u& r) o8 x# V: F7 n 《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。1 z% l* n' k: | \/ P" B" Z
5 T8 P4 j2 c8 n5 ]0 V The People's Liberation Army 8 c4 {$ k4 K: \- I$ c, S
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. 1 k8 B+ c9 L7 _, u+ | 5 Q2 Z0 ]( F( W) p7 p1 y. M' x - _0 H0 w" X9 _7 u' y$ }* S& c ; j, d, @8 T" y& |% [7 t4 `Victoria 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. ) k/ _* K+ b( Y4 z% d. Q! D+ K7 \) x. E W: P, d
, z+ F0 H2 P T: X* U- A3 q2 N 1 b8 S8 h6 P# _" H$ ^; h6 |0 v% h& 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. - t/ h) r6 M: H2 |+ b
- P% n* k$ x6 H* U, I8 M# I9 S" i3 n4 w* e1 `& p- w 8 Y a8 f* t5 Q+ V. C7 i- RWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. - l5 x2 ?9 ]$ |, N6 Z0 D* |' s: s % w; s: d7 q1 |) r
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 0 l, \! U: M0 n% D ~
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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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