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。1 W9 |' Y: {9 @1 D3 n O
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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。 : `; T" e' _9 P+ p3 d6 r X 1 @# c8 l& \2 a( g r
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。 / O: C! q" D+ O7 @2 f1 n6 M: { f & v( h Y% A1 q, \% A: K& j. C( H+ T& {& O) W* ~ July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. ( r U& q% `5 L: f2 p 7 `7 C- \! D8 D " R& N# |- x) B$ `6 M8 I3 o4 N( gFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 0 {3 d% o* K1 _/ [$ ` . s! x! t5 O7 o+ @% I* R+ S$ n3 r2 @" R ' M9 B+ L$ Z7 j7 A) W: G9 h3 A1 Q5 W* ^1 e4 [ March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 2 ]5 D7 R4 ~" o h & L/ F( _# h& {) @) x8 s 2 u7 Q0 u- \9 ]; L* D& b" cThe Expat Exodus 4 ?3 f1 Y- w$ O, d2 n
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. ) {& H) K( a; N3 e1 | , h& ]# U0 g1 H+ w
# D) u) v: B; d% H$ } $ f. e8 q1 `1 F% ^6 Y5 E t. DEmigration / A2 o6 \4 G" `* k; B& jJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 6 E2 `7 ? M; _, k! q' j ' W1 f& \! M( e+ m+ `* ]5 s7 s
% K2 e8 `! M: O8 Q: Y' f VThe People's Liberation Army ) ~) Q- n" O# T5 g
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. 4 ?$ @: S) t6 n$ Z- y% L' D0 O) ~* S 3 t" E) c( b/ e/ t6 X, S" v9 u' s$ I , I- H, h' N$ f) P* v) N# @! \8 h
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. - F$ q' F. S( Q4 L* Y; X/ k/ e) q: n7 Y7 p: o& X
) E: |1 h9 a1 W* u9 r/ E0 P" l& p ! l* a' J* |# s! X+ X5 CMilton 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. 2 I7 {! ~0 Z1 ?( J- [% j- n% a* o: R/ z: A* Q7 T: S1 {6 G
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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.* q3 M( q+ T+ F; }2 r, t5 ^
$ |7 b/ x. L2 t . {8 f( j; _0 e( M- H3 wHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. " _7 y1 Q# |& B U3 c" K
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1 u9 _% n5 b# d5 L+ l; [: g ( ` @4 @% Z, w9 h) c) v; {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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