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 ~- y- s$ }) Z; H # g- Z3 n$ h9 C+ i# s# r $ G! A+ f7 o: B3 J1 ~8 q7 V8 T9 v& l2 G1 m$ n
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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。 b. E/ v5 @3 O, g: _ x q
+ A# A. q. u+ D7 _. E$ m2 a9 X' p2 T0 v 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。. ^9 W+ y u% Q: Z7 l/ ], v
* G! K7 C$ M5 H+ w. B 2 ?: f7 G% ~8 v* c, u9 Y; RJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.- x/ [5 e8 u4 j9 d
! z+ e# l& D8 n & h2 I. o* x/ J- W9 ], x8 [& } 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.% x0 n0 v7 y @- h. ^2 n
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/ Y9 X/ {3 X1 X0 A + d+ q! e& e( w" |% Y/ r9 TMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. * h( R0 F- v, }4 d+ X0 g% U# }- x
% Z: C$ V6 d5 j# @3 z1 Y0 h. Q2 Q* c* h( k$ ? The Expat Exodus ' @! N: ?2 F) f, f
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. + i" e3 M8 {! _) H' y / b' c& e. j. }: X4 Z, R- m : u3 ]2 u# E3 C" t1 Z # `! n) w5 @* M* ~ Emigration 8 R! @6 l" z, c6 I {, }3 ]9 E
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. * x+ j# B- W# u# u$ K+ `6 V- y. P
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) i8 g8 g; |, E$ p 《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。 , y% Q. [+ B: T1 a5 h" X 6 p5 ]. p) s5 S3 f 《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。$ G( K: c6 M* v5 S' ~
( H4 V& u& q2 P: C, {The People's Liberation Army S. X: ], u+ v- fA 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. : N' [# V9 g' X2 \6 c 5 ^" |, J8 c0 g: k z p3 H- b$ m$ I6 \0 s" E 2 Q. N% ^- E6 S4 W1 a. GVictoria 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. ; ~8 @; ~0 z/ N6 B
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$ `/ i5 c5 }7 a5 P 1 x- _( N3 \$ X+ N- 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. ) R8 }9 x$ e3 u3 k) ]/ j: F9 f. J, {1 l; z: d# i
! O# P" Y+ C' ^. Q; Q7 `! P, R & @( f& |0 }# J7 HWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.3 r M1 i- a! i; `
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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. , i# G f) F4 f( p% J" A% a, o$ e0 t7 T; z6 V: c# P
7 z& I% ?0 S; m4 V9 G 8 @, r; }3 z9 f3 wContrary 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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