5 Q+ M. U4 L9 o4 f& D8 G 6 x- }$ s7 v" s2 l& f& g 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。7 L2 j# H4 _# E% {2 ` o
% q4 V$ [% @1 j& b, o S3 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。! |9 A$ j" @: C; U; D
9 }8 Y, @5 }& N" f/ ^! K5 L' t* j | July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.3 ^# e+ t. Y3 i; w
/ i3 a( \% J/ Z1 u* F ( s% E9 O8 T; e, D; _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.% m/ y1 j5 S& {7 N$ s
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& I/ K( c9 J4 u 9 Q9 c/ L& Q. b5 n, O7 b March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 6 e, A0 M* z, k4 Y: c: W% c0 k0 n1 a+ X- }! K U % }7 L, `* d/ e! f" B" ~( |The Expat Exodus 3 @+ v1 J9 x+ \8 Z! ~+ c9 ?, [
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. - i4 U+ _: u( b/ r
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ! U6 t X% t& ~- M+ M! ?# S . V3 p* M6 J% W
* [6 R1 _; Z2 W 《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。: I9 o% a) ~7 e) O5 a! a& J
& W6 Y+ c1 G' x+ G. W9 U8 @ The People's Liberation Army , j1 ]9 @8 b2 h# {' y
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. % S2 i9 I$ _8 W& Z
: K- N" O) |& B) o3 P: f* r) [/ G$ Z# r, } F, X 0 G, x3 M4 Q* G' q1 B3 AVictoria 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' ` @3 S# H0 ]+ w
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$ A% z+ r3 S1 P " j8 m2 X; O8 u% ~. H3 {3 |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. " J" y/ h" s g8 ]2 o8 M& {! D. w0 T* E& T# 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. 6 i8 V+ }" ~* @+ g" N9 d$ g a7 `4 n' k3 H9 a; V6 x 5 s, i" Y; y, c- `2 v9 _Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ! O/ z$ d8 ]) G; d4 `, u0 Q: @" z: T3 j& D$ C% p
3 ~; g8 X9 w/ J 7 W1 q$ {6 q6 p% mContrary 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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