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。 % c" r) Y+ v9 W3 W : {% `, e/ R6 S: O , D3 k6 O0 B. H3 K
" Q# d/ d3 I: }- o5 r& R% E ( ^, z Z; ?5 x, ]8 r$ J9 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。 3 N, S9 D h! z2 g: P 1 l3 V) |! f6 `* b 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。: J$ O( n! B! e
; j8 G7 a9 q( O ( c p* d6 g% W# b7 a+ mJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.0 q' F7 Y' h% L) \
0 U. A0 s. D" X$ j , U$ v! G: n' A; BFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.( A6 X1 i+ }' r. D# j$ X. ]1 D7 B
/ [* [* T, E+ p! ^/ P, p4 N3 d 7 W5 v7 Y- M, B; g% r6 ^" q# J( c' i- I: i6 P8 \! ?5 m March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ( a5 k" ]" f1 @# C* u7 F2 r+ W9 m" |0 U; Q* \ 1 w3 }: t; g4 @ The Expat Exodus f! S8 O$ `1 n# D, L
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. 4 `/ j* i8 Q% s1 h2 w
, B5 n9 `" c `( O$ t& K+ ? # ]5 D8 \9 z* V& g% ^( j, x 3 K+ L4 v& _" U3 o: \8 BEmigration ' M+ G; @; d2 G: [Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 7 I! i3 c( A" }" w8 J- j5 Q 6 k- a% s/ L3 q5 W- m- M
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《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 u. G' K; u! @3 Y" P8 f
4 f Q' C+ }! O1 U! f" D0 fThe People's Liberation Army 7 M% f+ t5 X. l$ F; x, @: e! Q& 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. ( q! C4 `6 c. C2 n j) d: M9 S& r5 S* I7 T
/ B4 p# u$ J) i" z( R+ ?7 w8 K 8 b9 ?, i( M* ~7 F, I$ 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. 6 Z9 X7 u3 q/ B " L" [+ z) ~# S' C! N * r1 n/ L" \7 n4 L+ N2 _) @# C* T9 D$ M$ t8 i1 X
Milton 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. * n: Y: i/ U J4 q) E. `0 W
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0 X; W/ W3 ]7 {& J 6 e: o" o, [9 `" T) a/ X! a- aWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. - W4 O* ?* w0 v( ^. Y9 C8 [7 ~# Y- W* }6 X9 m 7 u7 p4 F4 \1 i5 d$ |9 k2 I6 _
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. - ^% q6 q, [; Z! p
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% G7 G7 h+ r# M3 Z# d 5 B* I; u \4 ]! U' B7 }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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