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。) O# Q% s( w5 T+ [5 W; X0 h
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% u: ~) S4 M/ m3 U8 l4 n 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。8 Z) n$ P, d* \/ R+ f; y9 ?6 s
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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。 ' h# W, P; j3 M( Z a) I. R& n2 E1 r/ d" F+ W, {7 e+ H* x " }& L1 k2 {& b6 k$ EJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. " n# D( b; L4 v+ h7 f5 p 6 I1 j0 a: ?& A1 V: m; ^5 N ( c. z1 D7 F# b' n+ {4 e) j0 c2 ?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) U# q1 K+ Q% B& R# I
; E5 S3 p8 V1 P* ] 4 ]% }! @1 d5 v& i # V) U0 _/ r& X9 B7 y/ @1 k- eMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. - P6 v3 A, S- B! V/ ~3 ~! ~5 P1 g! \1 u' ], m + I" Q4 r- S, E! eThe Expat Exodus 3 T, R8 W% r% |6 Z- ?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. ( }# [4 |. d; T8 A' j, h1 z
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. " v) E$ T& I: Y" W, g2 ~
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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. 2 a2 Q7 z! ]6 c0 M# X, M& d; L3 g7 d: `
' K" ]" n9 r" n6 U( ]) H 3 h# X- B8 Q C0 t+ PVictoria 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. 3 H, p# |( c3 v/ t b# H( ? 0 m3 d* B$ U; ^# g/ I # [ A. G/ \8 r8 V- l " [; E5 M! G( l5 BMilton 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. # u5 i, E, s! K' I* s& Y; v% R! ` ) ~" v: s5 s, U 4 ]# s* f" L* D: c" O! [0 U" [" _ j
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. + Q! F, q, K) Q6 {2 |5 B+ y* W' j. L. P! o9 }9 F! x6 O ! W2 d% w# e/ p* e$ |: f
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. + E4 g8 p, d" L& i " o0 r/ z8 J. L+ E4 u % ?+ p( ~# ~( e( G# g0 ~ 7 P6 Y0 G6 u$ G4 y+ qContrary 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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