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。' V0 ?- Z# u6 y/ p
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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。 $ R2 h7 {9 T; ]' j/ j; G6 w5 n / R( s% z# d5 ^; P2 [
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。& `) J: g! S* s2 m* E) H
9 `/ Y" w# Q3 @! D" l4 p + }3 O1 m5 z* {& _% t8 n" B5 t July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. $ z; F: q2 e$ }- \# H/ \ h7 c4 o5 H " ^. k) I q3 \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.; @( Y7 W9 c1 s' c( g. I( w$ r
2 w: q2 m4 x' H5 Q2 _+ b 3 s: r8 g, |( G ! C U2 [+ V3 H6 BMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 0 h6 C+ ^& o0 d8 t4 R
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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. " n* L$ T6 e; ]5 N7 L- P* L
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0 _* F$ f! y* f9 f# s" | 2 w' ~ K4 m# t% UEmigration 4 D7 A8 A* l- X# c8 dJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. * f% A7 Q$ w! o% t, i& J $ D1 {9 n% K% Y- a* @ 6 c) k* m% j8 Y3 f, \
《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。* I) @) k; Q5 f5 \
. d# B$ B$ [ b$ _! U, s The People's Liberation Army 3 @9 O& n; [7 ^5 xA 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. & _1 k5 O$ r# ^: u* y, X$ {+ R
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2 I" Q; R* D2 X: b& V 7 w8 z, B* D& e% u& R% H+ i/ BVictoria 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. 2 o* y$ q5 A: f7 h# \
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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. . U. v* i" F# U) a% q# Q0 j* v
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With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.6 N/ U% K( O7 p, q, W
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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. % v9 S R$ R) R+ b
0 N7 u X' f% b0 c1 G ' C! J9 N5 c8 c ' D* z" F7 ?2 D) }% z; q7 }! VContrary 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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