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。6 J1 f0 T5 g- D
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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。 . u' v. M/ B2 R9 F9 }5 c/ y , L2 P" {7 x* u3 ~ 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。6 K% T b" Q. n, Q% F- W
5 c! P; Q& r# ^* \# p( a) a1 c5 a 6 J$ b) H' M4 n# C. aJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. - Q9 e7 Y; m3 `3 S4 p% R0 K" S; Y6 z v$ K% v ! q' ~+ R# H! ?* {& E" v 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. . i, X9 t: Y# {7 X1 |0 { 2 Q8 P0 {6 g* C* ^: l 8 p! H& b$ U& `6 k# T7 g( O" n8 g March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 4 {* Y, V( s/ A4 N: k }8 e' K
# x( q. o& T$ u& J" y 9 k$ @: w4 j8 _9 V+ w; N The Expat Exodus : [- @+ O8 d/ [$ h
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. ! l* L, L& { ]3 V3 O6 B % Z& J( Q3 ?) ~ $ ^- }" D7 z% P, p' H8 q9 w* o $ O* O5 l4 T% R9 B" w6 nEmigration : v+ R4 h3 ?$ h* r: K' N% G
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ! Z$ k/ e9 m8 G3 O" O $ O- o3 @- I2 G, J, \$ [; ? 7 Z' N/ W5 z9 I% }, N% m; |5 S1 A
《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。; r" i+ ^: I2 D3 a
% V2 r! O, L, }! j- Y The People's Liberation Army $ }1 ~; g2 ^8 s( c$ T' \3 hA 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. # d) Z+ P- w3 v f( B; T( ]/ l( W) u; t7 @
- M5 c6 Y( t# h+ } ! l) Z; Q y, c3 x% e3 Q2 tVictoria 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 J" ]/ B7 l5 M, L0 a9 j( Q1 }7 Q : E% z) F& x" G2 D) G5 C 5 a/ ~0 I5 l- n3 R2 L! {& S- i n8 M( i' C% H0 n+ t
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. 5 J1 g* x* S# [) S# c 8 @: V& ]9 X" z) g/ G* l' J' Q& x! F( Q' w / d. D' ^& C" `6 M% Q5 g
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.( V q0 d6 j/ H9 y
6 z6 l, k, f. f4 c; \: P) v ! m2 D0 j3 X+ BHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 1 L) ?5 n1 j5 ]! G# f8 M0 \9 L5 C2 u( H) y5 w
& u8 c* b9 F( ?# u7 V: S o ( x+ {. q6 _0 ]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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