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。, h# b/ i* I$ R" ^' u
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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。 6 m! q/ ~. j1 j" m* ^ 5 j. H2 n i1 p6 L 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。 & h5 s8 F9 K9 p* A. j 0 o* B6 _( u3 r/ d9 F/ [) p" B/ g9 z1 h 1 N: C5 l& Y4 v a: D1 e: ]) q July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.' U5 E# w- r; |
; M, I- P- ]* t# Q: u& M3 c2 q" ?! M( ^/ m 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 n. r p9 ?/ B
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4 g! P9 p/ e5 o+ i/ t" f/ J4 ~ . ~: c+ L/ p& j* k& O' D" wMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. : Y! y/ b P, g# W$ `* U' C0 w Q/ A M/ Q - w8 T! @ @$ W- ?1 i: Y# g% U: SThe Expat Exodus 0 q1 C/ }: u2 _* G/ f# }. P
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. " e u) f2 l8 H& r2 l
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ) _) f2 S I. F7 ?* o! j
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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。2 W$ \3 @8 C. }! y/ X
4 j5 ^# E7 M) M3 t4 t The People's Liberation Army 5 B& s: S/ _: l
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 J% { B8 R) p/ }0 z( n2 a/ J
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9 N5 y- z! S; J/ R" u ' w, C+ k) w8 ?) b2 HVictoria 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. ; D( X8 C$ h; f: d4 @ \7 R; w3 s
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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. / `7 b- ?; I+ L9 K
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With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.& ^! q+ ]0 v2 L3 _2 {3 |
$ n& U: E% \) M# k2 u! F( k 6 a! ]( J1 Y5 ?! DHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. / a7 f: H# H% g. P7 C0 Q ( c+ B4 |0 w! B/ I/ `( m( t " e0 e0 C, R, G) [. F/ }# ~ ( K) J2 X4 C3 y Z1 E+ m, tContrary 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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