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。 & e7 W6 Y& x! O4 }3 l * U0 v# V a3 @( E ' q3 }0 O/ |' z% ?
3 s$ Q/ h* K( r- |6 ]$ v$ P5 t5 D% v0 z
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。; H" E5 O% h; d; A" w8 P Y
' S' s2 D: g7 d8 }0 X$ s 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。 E/ U3 T6 p4 K5 g+ |' h! G" V7 ? ; h) k( c* @8 x. P* D2 [2 R P: A9 J- S6 Z, O3 d1 ?July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.! a E7 p( x( [
8 e# L) \$ t' @' v5 f. m - P3 [1 h+ H+ p8 ?, M+ e 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. 8 Q9 C# s" y/ \' U% R- B; B7 j" n G' P0 i3 h" I' p+ [7 ]
# L" |. Q+ H7 q: }1 B . [0 {$ U: `% Q March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. & d& b4 N- F0 T; P% ~3 N
9 x" z! d% U; `. e" L 5 `- \6 J8 I/ V8 DThe Expat Exodus , @0 z! \- ~9 kOn 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 d. }. L9 { C) f: P6 h3 Y + B. y: `) X/ W5 M3 { : s2 D% t8 r0 @: f# R2 ^0 E; V 8 K9 t j/ R$ x: K) m- OEmigration . r$ B) n) ^2 h- b4 b+ rJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. / ~) \9 p/ b! P& ]3 q1 R( \3 \% g ( B/ t7 I( F9 g; u9 T
: p6 y1 x L8 F+ M# dThe People's Liberation Army 9 K% C* z, B% V5 aA 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. * T6 f6 \) \" T3 a, f' w7 I
?) |" q3 e/ Z" `1 t: |* ~ $ e+ E& X8 \& m; q) U ! N8 O$ N' {6 s8 LVictoria 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. ( x; w' v- F' {! M7 A$ p9 Q5 x) _, U/ C, Y8 f8 q' n/ O
: Z6 o+ o) R" J* `& X) B 0 {8 _( g0 M" {. A# s% w
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. 3 }0 C9 P6 k7 |" m . g7 T3 ~( T$ s* D) k 6 h$ G& c& ]' f5 m& {! D7 a0 f# r+ @" F& \0 D2 E9 w' n
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. * b# H0 Q% c$ {1 u9 e( i# p8 j- S$ h+ N ; Z- Y S6 ]! x2 Y# PHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 0 Y$ i0 b9 F$ e% \9 C9 G9 I' ~ X$ }1 w" O0 p4 t j7 s7 p) a7 D
8 H% `/ g& n* T ( N( Q0 v; K q4 c% {: f1 V2 RContrary to dire predictions, Hong Kong hasn't yet lost its economic edge to cheaper cities on the mainland or to cleaner, more orderly Singapore.
- P3 [1 h+ H+ p8 ?, M+ e
. [0 {$ U: `% Q
0 {8 _( g0 M" {. A# s% w
0 f# r+ @" F& \0 D2 E9 w' n
