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。 ' C# ?( v) M! c- Z , y" f. g% U5 P' b $ [7 X& x6 v' s: ^) g6 v4 b* T9 ]7 P6 N5 j9 G, T* D* A
. b7 Q( |! {6 ?3 X- w* M: t8 a 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 F+ _% q9 g; M; H
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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。, ?/ D2 X \" C+ K; ]5 \2 Q( z
1 W0 \" E$ ?4 _- z7 v3 m 0 ^' Y9 z, n7 }2 _* _3 {7 S: p7 \July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.4 r2 G2 y8 @& U' G9 j
5 X r2 O9 a- e( M! ~ ; ~! S4 g5 W1 G. [$ [3 z; y+ d 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.# @7 J9 H1 B0 L9 |6 e, J: m
4 {& r- a) l( ^$ m, i' ]3 W. | y5 |9 W" Q3 I% Q% P$ _! i # S. U. w& ^' \. U6 S g4 qMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ' y4 B, `0 B* x# {; i$ u& Q
) ^$ p) g2 X, [* v 0 z7 N* O3 B" y4 r3 x! bThe Expat Exodus 6 D! {3 U7 p* L- J; T( q/ 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. ' X: _& s A% K: j7 S% o+ ] % _; ?! Q+ O0 w! U1 s9 K
; h- z# j: ]& S. Y ' ]* C2 Z9 n1 Y5 r1 dEmigration ) X5 }4 ]" D. K/ ^3 T9 k
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 0 }( v5 n) S7 `; P6 y% N- G' v
) U- l0 P4 q' ]) u The People's Liberation Army & o+ f7 D* W1 NA 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 n6 {! w# p: y" [8 K- y
7 P# }+ a. ?6 [0 i; V8 W' J2 N: ?" [) k3 D$ p . k8 l5 t; W. `- \+ }8 T& }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. 9 p' H; ^+ j: N$ H, ]3 F1 s: _) L 5 s" _$ o9 ~( V; X0 m! F' W$ b' p0 G/ ?( R6 }) X5 N9 p ; D& Z/ \& q+ gMilton 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. + R2 J3 [9 w* j# W$ W% F* A' n) G9 W- E; K
2 G- S6 L5 Q! |! ^4 S! z" z ( i' v1 o h$ S# EWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. ) I6 P4 p! ]. h0 [# {; O5 J0 E1 a% K V5 {9 P/ a) e2 Q, NHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 1 c. D x9 D8 x0 k# a2 n) d/ T6 P% ^! \, ^ 5 F, \( o) B h! }+ `. c 3 [) h9 ]0 _* t7 A# H' ? 9 l! g: j8 h3 U4 M: l) b9 P2 I- ~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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