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# V5 L- p+ g; F( Q! O( W
- k, G5 J8 g' ?# n7 q ( V" G) K6 ?: H% D . G- h8 v' R+ @# R) \" F 3 I# R/ U8 d9 h 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。, R, e- I) R/ Z4 f# A3 O% l
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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。 : u9 C% O( N/ t8 t4 R ) y, y9 M6 [3 L" R $ h6 A0 i: A' i$ j. vJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. . @3 N/ B N. p8 _1 V; d2 b$ q. T3 G7 e5 V" {5 Q 9 t5 }" G: U5 |, O! a W 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. / `) e$ @$ p6 Y) L. [% A% Q% z( c, U2 Z) r8 P) k5 A/ k2 K. ]
0 p) Q8 z E& {. T$ _ 9 P3 \" R/ ~- G+ h; ]$ Z: P March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. - r, o" \: |7 e" U F5 B& l% v, E: r$ t ^# m) ]# { 2 r& M Y7 [6 l& F4 O0 IThe Expat Exodus # d% ~8 p3 Q9 g4 z! [% F$ n1 W7 FOn 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. : r. t# Q/ q6 T 4 c, Y* n' d/ p, M1 c% e- @4 j- z
: F" z" p. W+ Z6 `8 l " V' x# z4 {' ~6 _Emigration 3 V& w+ \5 p* L$ a
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ' I$ j5 W2 I, X
' Z5 M7 X/ M; z3 l4 @0 MThe People's Liberation Army # H& @2 c! |" B6 \5 W: M3 H p
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. 6 V; [9 }! p- `- B, l+ v 4 u) Z( C5 z+ d0 y: G- ` $ B+ H% z, C0 ?2 p0 k* D; [+ i5 Z. ?. c5 p5 ]+ F) E$ I! w2 ]
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. . E9 ?% Q4 e) O! I- W8 D$ L9 H
3 F/ [' R6 e, I# F- Z0 n& |/ y- m2 @0 Y( M& R h " a8 Z2 }3 B+ }+ N2 e- h0 s! wMilton 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. / i% y) }, X; o! T2 t& E O, l" d $ n J- n5 Q F [ , W d; M) h% i& z/ ?3 x* d' B! V8 y- d g$ X" [
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. / O) G9 J& {0 ~: }. M& ~6 i! x: E" v$ ~5 P # y% d: B# @( u, S' |) V" h
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. & [9 o1 k; ~; j3 x& A7 j9 {- T, \; X# ?( X. ?4 L% p9 x* w
1 }. m2 a! a( U% f* M1 x ; Z" N. l7 [+ F, K6 b2 uContrary 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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