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。+ U: C4 \8 z6 S' z
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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。 ' I! v. b0 L6 V e3 k: e- { ! _2 r1 O) k+ ~9 V+ C% Y/ Q
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。 5 \: v n+ O0 c$ {* G# l0 H$ v ' n5 L, O1 \% l& ?' n! }! H ; X5 f+ _; }: e8 N# M: k2 z: c4 b7 H; lJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. + T* U3 b% n; w& F- t& E$ H - E, U9 b# Q/ `2 i 1 |6 Q; ?' R* kFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 6 @1 C: g4 z5 Y6 ], z4 ^ R6 J % T0 D, h m- u1 b+ r+ c, r5 M/ P! }4 v V/ A: d) E# b% s( ~ , D9 d, |1 z: P& H+ J; | March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 2 u) k7 a) {% i" z" g1 f/ e6 A4 r) Q! h* Z, J8 R, E % c4 D- {/ `8 h# J# VThe Expat Exodus 8 ?- C. m) \& k1 r+ QOn 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. 9 T, W5 ^: X" P; A: }
* K6 N6 I. z8 S; A2 i: V& u* o 6 G6 R9 r6 U* c* U3 E. L 2 x# N& @# Z' p- EEmigration ; I: n5 j h4 \# c: k. a: ^' FJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ; r Y& K( I, H& x
, l& \9 s# P! D0 M' [ # E. e' a# @5 B, @& u, h# B 《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# v% p/ E1 B5 ~! v2 H6 X
- |$ W' B& O7 c9 p! h1 K% D, S2 gThe People's Liberation Army " l: m9 ]' x% l; r3 k
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. 6 f: A9 G( D) i7 C1 N
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- j N* U% l; L8 k5 r5 P 5 y* R( {; [0 O! Q* NVictoria 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. 6 A" `( j( N* X0 Z! O- F. L8 I2 D: ]6 z% n- k8 N) A/ O: \
( Y* p0 F" Q& B3 r( e : r) V1 y8 \1 jMilton 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. % Q7 |' k" |( r8 T% F
2 z9 v0 R. y! O3 }2 W( l- [. H; L6 U % N* d; F* m+ d- D- V& {; vWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. / Y6 }( X- l$ o f2 @) ^9 e. E J- N0 h5 f" T& v4 ? p! A7 x2 j @# R- @9 x/ V; wHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. & U; U! x, _5 v) O5 A$ |( a0 ?, @/ T A
8 t' @7 [6 |1 A ( T1 \6 k8 f8 _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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