% L5 U, E; [1 K, [ 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。# A9 `4 q3 I; z0 d/ P
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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。/ d! W3 J1 z3 j9 M6 X5 W/ s
# z4 D* c9 k) u3 H! m5 O2 g2 S6 p I/ A; N( k+ \: iJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.: g; I$ B: C+ z
) Y* ^4 W7 S1 p* Z6 y * t2 H& F5 S* F- pFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.. p& {( P1 O" ~/ M6 G
3 M1 j) q c; u9 V7 y ~9 O# M4 R$ X1 |4 p # h2 g+ z+ f! \- r4 VMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 1 l5 p9 U [7 x! ~8 L
5 e5 J" d* M N' I4 y. g: g* J. M3 Z( L7 Q6 q The Expat Exodus 5 {. ]% e1 K) w# y7 |
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. 3 s: ~6 R! o9 _$ ^7 ?
7 V1 e% }! n0 E7 e2 \& q' y , D' [& ]1 H7 Y# q8 [- G/ ] . }4 J9 ?5 q. Q& j R Emigration : n8 j1 k8 V2 D) `+ W% z, YJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. : O) [' j Z |$ w( R% y2 u
; H6 z* g; {) N/ [ 3 }7 e& `2 ]9 U" P' 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。+ x) Z4 O2 b$ A4 E( w( S) n( i3 o
. h$ o2 P8 h/ Z1 q% w9 M 《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。! W6 a% B0 k8 ]( d8 `8 y
g5 K: ` I0 U6 k8 L4 ~ The People's Liberation Army ! }* V" X. N# r% _( I7 J4 n8 F; `
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. ' i$ |+ e6 ^# }! |1 Q! c
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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. 7 V# a& q/ p& r p# v
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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. , L. T! s3 z; X0 q; J4 |4 r6 S! M
& h9 c, C( @( C J+ T7 V ! d+ F9 J9 @. M/ cWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 3 n" X# T7 Z3 D' t8 r3 {6 M0 i" {2 z 1 j4 o; @; P% i4 h3 r, AHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. " S, y1 w/ {# b7 ~& S2 v
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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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