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。! A7 D5 o, E5 u1 A* t( ~
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x3 c9 p) r9 I/ h8 x 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。; ]3 Q, G- ~. B& C
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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。 ; _6 s2 N+ V! p: n, f; B2 ~" E6 j 1 }: k" ]: P1 f5 N8 } 3 H2 b/ B5 Z3 R# c4 g# z( k1 ]$ `July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.. Y0 _8 e9 m# g5 T3 j4 o7 J2 b, ~
* ]0 c3 {4 p7 q9 | 5 [2 `8 k6 ?) V- v4 W' V0 ZFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. % h! ^9 ~ e: Z% G# G/ M* |/ S' m9 c; ~$ q; ` c, Z
7 J6 R4 [6 `4 [' b- R' d% x3 F 0 t8 ^1 j8 `2 N# E, uMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. c5 h& m) n9 i, b$ M/ X4 ^ 0 ]; M o& ]) {& ], e+ y* I/ N. ?( X# P. r/ e/ X2 m% W7 F' ?, d The Expat Exodus 6 T: M( f( x6 r( M* @
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. 1 H( m4 d/ ]& B5 Y# R / `2 K3 p. O4 m3 J0 @ 1 z% c3 Q- ^0 \; U' Y* t 3 R' c; E2 @9 d2 \. n9 e Emigration - Z7 g( y6 w) U) \! M5 G& p, ZJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ! n# e' x2 ]1 {6 U4 j
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《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。, O- [# Y6 W4 q$ z2 Y
! O- |3 H' r6 J0 c( f" CThe People's Liberation Army & [ m/ C2 e4 P3 t5 t4 l/ 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. 6 N; S/ G1 c8 J3 v n M & l! _- y2 k3 J" u" j4 Y+ U$ S4 Z% V9 S3 O+ ^9 N) R * ?" Z2 w/ B5 U# ]0 k* e3 q7 I1 cVictoria 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. + e3 O9 C) M3 p9 t+ P6 L8 B' z$ H1 g) M" W7 d) L- F. a) w, z
' ]! _$ _! m) f+ G& ? 3 v% g. ]3 c: }. IMilton 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. 3 y! H9 w2 v+ S, X# f( s
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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., o& G9 |( }! ~6 }) G
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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. 4 I/ I% S8 P* K; i4 z7 \8 N
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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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