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。9 \, T3 R/ Y) o& [& }
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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 M2 o4 t1 p& x! Z , t& w$ |* I! W+ c% ~/ D- Z
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。4 M7 U$ n/ k- w: k2 l7 b' i) q3 n
. o7 b' w) R, i* r 9 I3 _+ }1 [0 sJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. - w6 o! Q5 S* J9 C % E" W7 c2 s" H |4 C+ m: u5 y9 {% [ 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. : [" n/ q* P( V4 F: P/ |- J2 b$ T' G
" b! G( a, B' g( P2 |7 X' ? % X' D! O5 f. | A March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 2 a8 E# {2 z# {% ^! Q+ W
$ J* s' A, b6 Z }* d" { ! v0 F0 u$ R# B9 x. K; X The Expat Exodus . q- g& G" ~( J0 G2 K, SOn 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. 2 W+ ]$ f( b) m+ H5 ~; v! Q/ v / l9 R1 J& X+ \% m( ]; O ) I/ y, x. n1 n4 S4 ? $ v5 c- s2 p. L* ?! L% WEmigration ! K/ i4 z; M* L2 _' oJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. : h; B; l( |7 }2 \ 9 P( N: }( Z* [; g8 Z2 `5 {
) e/ S, f+ c0 b0 q5 k2 {( p The People's Liberation Army . c) D8 H* {6 d' I2 x3 A, [9 v; UA 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. : m% s% x$ D; p V, M" A
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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. . ~2 x# C3 j7 }) `0 j+ c9 \) b' Y1 {+ @; S
' _$ m9 y% Q( p% ^- k# u2 m 8 V, a7 A) j' u0 l" f3 ~* F! ?. iMilton 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. ' n9 Y3 b+ V' X; H" _ t
$ v) Z: D1 @- ]$ F + ?2 V c' f9 V7 u # R% q7 x! @7 R% N2 _- K7 oWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.2 l4 K% [5 O) S% x) t5 j' m+ R( o
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Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 8 b/ q6 H# s) |" C ! w. L# W w/ h- c$ f7 o % ?: R u1 t& g# R. h- K! x3 M9 ^' q0 L' B1 r6 U
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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