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。 / d& f& Q8 W( t* L$ M' v$ O - N4 ?' j3 P) z' D: b0 R. [5 Z! C # g2 b. W+ J- h4 F! ~! z8 h& H- V1 A! D5 ~) ]
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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。- k- b% `. ]4 }# d. H
+ f H# h- Z1 ]& o8 q) I3 o 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。 8 U" x3 f6 C, b. Q ( U/ a% j3 g2 w* ?4 v, m % L" K4 Z+ _( G9 m2 XJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 4 E" L J, i6 z6 P4 ^' p' l % N5 m5 h9 _7 j" Q+ y4 V , R; x. R2 D/ S Y/ Q+ hFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. ; A# `* x& s/ ~# H2 p/ B, u + k2 n0 H/ i, f- o. x6 ?# i0 e% ]1 w n8 d5 F # [# d! G( g6 V March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. + {! u4 P! y3 o; f
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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. : F, n. Y8 p3 F) |9 m
: O* l, J2 ?/ A% H! K6 [ " n# k8 y; Q; H B& W- H1 b" C- V, P& }- e1 M# R! C# D Emigration I" j( B- `7 c+ k) _. fJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. " q2 i$ U* X* ]6 M1 U) t7 ? . B' G, z; ^0 y( w
/ j1 R$ b B, E; [8 s( A4 e K5 _+ o The People's Liberation Army / e) U' x- K8 T! z
A 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. 7 x. f3 B, ^7 y- _" S
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Victoria 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. 5 ?( J2 Q1 ?% w# H
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) u6 M9 x; N& k% e/ Y$ ` : z0 O) G: P$ c/ ]" F9 s; jMilton 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. , ^! B4 b6 N# F c+ f! L; m* ]9 h0 j9 H9 |: {
5 Q8 N8 I4 J* L4 X { 8 }: z3 ]$ Y. @! xWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.- h2 |/ d( J" p, J
W2 @5 R M% d2 t) V: V ; [( u7 T2 W* [$ u1 I: t+ \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 r; f& D' u* q9 H * d$ f" F4 x4 ~ 1 e! D/ q, h4 c) u9 w b- y0 I$ Y2 S) x9 C; r; t
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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