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。 I. f$ B7 z$ Y/ R0 f: e1 B 5 v ^- V1 T! b3 o2 |' W9 L 5 d, y& H2 i( K) Q0 P
$ U: K# O. z2 X! _! a7 p( F+ O
3 S& ~! Q0 {# P1 D8 Z `) ]3 c2 } 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。2 R8 J& ]% C9 G8 L
' M8 t$ ?* i, E3 N 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。 & g! p; H" n; {, q # \7 j) O8 t" p 2 b# B; s. o) N July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.' t+ ]! s+ u2 m! D! b
, n7 X( \9 P! u. l& H5 Q+ K$ z3 C0 h1 m n/ \; ] 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./ m0 Q8 B; s5 a) A$ e8 ~2 V
% k; P- j% q& [9 Y4 T " j/ [$ ?$ ]' l2 R) | [0 _) g3 ~, T+ Q' w) [ March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. # z" O' A) F& G% p6 ^3 L8 A( ?- u ' k4 V/ S/ b0 p, Q$ u# {$ W9 WThe Expat Exodus & X2 k# L: D: M7 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. 7 E1 I- g2 ^; d; n( Q/ f 2 V. y) M1 W. x& l% O8 N- b- P( j
- F+ S6 K, V( C1 d7 d: q4 c ( k. _) B( K t. f& REmigration / b( Z \) ^, z% E& v7 z% g8 J' y
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. Z2 i! ?3 g9 | 2 R% e- N K. B8 o) G# U
\& J# p3 n3 R3 J 《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。& b- D! \0 v, a9 o7 W
2 T& I& r! v6 Y7 d5 E4 Z. n
《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。. L2 \0 E z8 g
* N$ q1 l. l- \. Y* y The People's Liberation Army 8 a. _+ D! S1 M4 ^' G9 _/ O2 K/ [1 A. s/ MA 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. % h( g& Q% ^- }
0 Y+ {" b: H% C
, [5 e) p- y. e1 @2 k8 i ' C6 i$ E$ ?7 Q; b6 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. 8 d3 P6 W) I$ e8 ?) {- _+ E
% r+ Y8 G" Y4 [2 S J S 2 W4 e* _" F$ s8 t4 Y 0 }% b2 D' U5 Q) o G1 |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. / s% L4 S# L/ Q, S. ~4 I |# H! q% V* e& N7 b # E i8 n# `, M& v; R0 f: m q/ _ ( n( P* L6 Q' d$ ~! O% h1 gWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. H( r; G; ]4 y! u1 K/ H# t6 ^/ I7 G7 L) Q # S. ~, [# i0 q d. |" d( fHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. N" G% U1 O0 p 1 L0 a4 S+ B! \; T& t& p 6 R* k# v$ s6 _$ x4 j Z 0 O' A6 b S, ]" SContrary to dire predictions, Hong Kong hasn't yet lost its economic edge to cheaper cities on the mainland or to cleaner, more orderly Singapore.
2 b# B; s. o) N
+ K$ z3 C0 h1 m n/ \; ]
0 _) g3 ~, T+ Q' w) [
* N$ q1 l. l- \. Y* y
