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。: P9 j5 F1 L' w' {0 P1 L6 I
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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。 ( G5 N5 k9 J2 p( G/ n4 S 2 N; F0 y3 {# k' S2 G
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。 ( v# T9 P3 B5 `# k1 h 5 K9 V2 k" W) x6 r2 ^9 |- ^3 J/ M- i- T5 Z1 n" i July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 6 g& X& b( X' S" ~ , R! u: i* j1 x6 K2 ?; V: S3 k & G+ J( _4 X eFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. - w ^! T2 o: W* T& _6 ~. J0 A0 _/ Q9 Y9 }+ k& j
# y( n! d" m5 x3 ?- p3 _0 z5 s- m: A: T% `2 _, s" Q" \ March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ) n) Y7 A7 p' Z2 q2 {% w
) ^% B5 w; H5 K $ P0 { J3 t& Z- Y' mThe Expat Exodus / E6 `: s1 p4 ]1 V) W/ ?5 \. b
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. * x B+ @+ W2 m" g2 Z
" J9 \9 k4 z3 m+ J* U6 U6 s 0 w( ~' i( Y& }3 k! q8 w O + e1 m8 r% d4 s7 g/ h' _- K Emigration . X6 a$ P% |* {. m! X) O3 gJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 4 Y9 T" D2 R& \5 x1 h
+ q X& B) o' {6 }" R/ ^, U % x/ v" H4 r8 J, d( [3 _ 《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。. N+ m- |8 M2 m* X
" a9 m' ^: \ M" a# jThe People's Liberation Army ; @9 i4 T: G! `4 T& e, |
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. . |8 y) W F. U
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+ ?" v/ j! `4 e 5 K7 @2 A# ~* X; DVictoria 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. . c% ]' L. d8 |0 z6 j8 g& H, l " L+ Y# B6 g! z6 h& h4 H3 m) W $ Y s3 H8 D( L: f# V% p: \0 J. d; l8 L3 Q8 |6 |2 N" b
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. 9 C% C' [9 y$ C- T" [0 m: v$ ^4 O; v0 E1 B
% t5 o3 R, u$ x: o; c ; n# i% O! j( a! }" ]3 FWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.7 x0 e4 v) P, ^7 {( K: @
5 a4 A. s* n5 j0 E , ]4 U$ M7 Z7 Z8 w# W6 QHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ! X& `+ O* V7 G+ ]; x x0 z0 i( @! [
& m4 ^: C4 c( N j4 p! b% \ ! [- M* X8 a6 [) N5 p3 ?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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