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。& Y, `1 x9 W1 a" G
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1 ?) {0 b, Q- }! I) Z 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。 . _* h$ A E) V8 ]: b0 t ! R/ D+ ^1 ?/ f/ g; X 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。 7 |' c9 j( \. e( _8 P$ e % O7 ?! [; `- J , b7 I K3 h5 r/ ~July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.5 a F C( u' n
$ S- E# L) ?$ C& U4 t& c 9 p1 p2 S+ ^0 a! P4 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. ( |2 Q" d% C- z" M6 P3 }/ t- R0 @& w, o: D0 @4 v
1 u0 J/ g8 t& Q0 `* D 0 P9 P3 r* m# Z9 mMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 3 c$ m- }' u. r& t2 V4 Z* _! U7 N; j- ~) I/ K1 @# _ 9 [/ K5 B8 |+ a; g7 A The Expat Exodus 1 t! Y$ |/ G: O6 z" [* ~( ~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. ) ?' H" H# Y" B$ c/ U
. X; Y( l# {" }3 i 6 R/ j0 A! x" ^- f 1 C+ k. V. q, UEmigration 5 o) H1 r$ M2 G- d4 a0 L) EJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ' l0 g+ A9 T8 \2 x0 h) Q# L
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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. 0 ~( z- w; k: g0 e( K0 f1 f0 ~# [! ~7 ^1 |
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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. * p. r/ D& R* c" w. ]! y
5 _- d" S7 E: R/ c: V ) Y% e2 d" Z/ }( _# ^6 N 2 l! q5 _ J: ^1 x6 VMilton 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. ; y+ F# I) J6 g ' `( a3 I, c7 I* j! g # r" N) M: |; ^7 { / \( R7 \- x, C% a5 z) j P$ S8 ?With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. ) ]1 t9 _) @( Q7 c1 M) f! P. D- K8 ~ $ F1 e& R. ?& k# H/ d0 f1 `# k9 AHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 0 K4 v% V i8 h; X/ s2 W# ~ p! s* L4 n% A9 p0 n2 w) n
' S- H! x0 X* y; I6 c' s 8 ~& T. Y, N% q7 M* |$ D, NContrary 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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