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。 + }( @2 Z& ]9 G# q) F; w ( o4 g' _% G$ }$ ?" _% A o # z( ^7 K; c0 h: a* Y/ z
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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。 ! m) S3 \. \( n' C3 ]6 p8 A9 B x4 q# `; j0 Q! l' _# R O 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。" s& g/ J( k) A, r# d! H$ L
7 Q @9 h# }" s : O0 R5 u6 |9 T" _. ^# Q. bJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. # k# j, H4 P& T2 d% `& r6 t9 x, ] " Q! l9 r3 } _' _9 m3 w0 G# h( c" W4 Q" A, j$ I/ G, ` 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. . r/ s9 Q) D- E9 ?; v) Y' J8 ~" f" t- U
9 i. N9 r* o9 G6 h" ~ # M" }) ?; w; Q, |March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ( d+ j' u& k$ c1 ?1 W) h1 [2 ?8 n2 b) K* B2 ` ; ^/ {) X& I) K" s The Expat Exodus ( Z ^' M ^: s1 c
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 _7 Y9 W# j. B1 F/ I4 r
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) S+ W* @- M% E% T9 C. f; `2 e 5 g! Q4 t& d3 }: @9 y0 l# P Emigration 2 ]* ]! @5 t$ X. u6 @& I9 gJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 8 h( s9 t6 w; T& {# d8 P$ U' o5 z % M) y0 b7 j: Q - ?5 @% f7 ^& m/ {" l 《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。# k3 Z" \* m* P6 j& B+ a8 g
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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. ; H8 z* {5 p) a; V
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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. 0 t: N9 Z( |# v# \4 _ d) @: ?' i# l& c$ R. d V
5 L% D% ^# `" w & I& \; q% |7 ^2 }5 T5 y3 qMilton 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. $ x4 A+ w* k- D5 t/ E 3 a3 D* S8 z: O! V( J# [: z3 p6 x$ f . }7 E X+ ^$ Y8 _1 |/ Q# fWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. , U' Y# i+ i- `8 Z& `4 X 8 H. P; q r$ R& T : ]* Z+ u" q7 V+ m1 dHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. * Z& q o+ A' g+ A" j; 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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