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。3 R/ ?4 C" e N4 Q- J* _; f, L
7 I4 \, a! {7 B% i! u0 q- H% L 3 y- \% B8 m2 B/ ~6 E4 M ! T. x+ a. ^* {. A + h: l8 F3 `. k5 ] 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。 5 h0 W9 i, t. E+ {% G* F$ d. B8 k $ E% q7 J7 S2 z; {- r* u 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。 % L, b0 E! J4 D' M3 }3 O - b3 G- v6 r& I4 Z& f; l/ I( q* b$ O4 x5 q6 l0 a July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 6 R- \* y# ?/ ^" J ( ~7 f3 n: M- Y5 Z; z ! H" F) q4 c6 h+ P# \3 L- Q( A& {+ ~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.* {, s+ l {- q
4 y8 `! k$ p8 e3 ]1 q, j/ x7 F 8 [, C. |3 D4 h8 o7 Q5 y- J, g* q0 q; Z8 W March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. r; w$ B7 S, g D q& D! ?: d8 f; v4 ~ q% q: h4 @4 {" Z E e* D% KThe Expat Exodus 0 m: ~( a+ ^- ^6 r- B0 _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. * {8 ]6 L( E" R5 M; ~5 [+ |/ o
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5 S! X+ Q, G/ q& I: }3 b9 T' w# f & f% G7 t" Z5 Z- R% t M# oEmigration 9 C; J' g( {$ M$ ~, p R, T/ R
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 5 _, C& t9 i" W C, ? " F7 E' V1 ^1 [# H! d% `% d
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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。; }3 l* h' w: d/ z
3 o. P3 i4 D# g: z! ^# L: o 《时代》称，港人在争取民主方面的想法过于“实际”。有权投票选行政长官的八百名选委，大部分来自商界，他们普遍认为普选特首会引入平民领导人、令香港变成福利社会；另一方面又怕惹怒中央，影响自身利益。6 w9 V" t. U# m; }
. |2 ]1 c N! a& f3 h# V" @The People's Liberation Army # ~8 x5 L; e2 D, D8 z5 w% g+ lA 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. 5 ~# w9 ^5 j4 L; j
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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. & q7 v& ]& ?. ~$ k5 x2 u' E3 B3 }7 T
3 x+ L* [6 u# G 4 O8 I) v8 n6 s' C* D3 d# [8 AMilton 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. ( @$ `% e. V) `/ K* |3 E ) L# G1 P9 `/ j' M1 Y , h/ G b! [* o$ ?9 M [/ Q$ }5 _# K- v
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. + j- f4 m1 d3 o8 D' |4 ~! W# D8 t( e5 v8 _3 o' I: d ; F2 \+ L7 u% M9 ]0 ^
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 5 e0 ]; }# }9 c$ F8 Q+ r9 ]. M" Y6 ~# |
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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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