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。. c7 V' u- I: `
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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。 7 N+ M* A& m5 j X) N0 u + K; x8 P. ]" h6 z9 k 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。1 v) p! ?+ z5 b
9 ^! q& Z6 o1 c! X" a N; C5 b+ u. c8 e: y0 n+ g July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.' I( h( r" J% V9 W
+ G( U, t& I% ^/ P ! b% s) K6 m3 a" r* L# JFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 6 Q5 z2 J8 Z& x; g! o# s3 A3 D 8 N, F8 B2 x# `- `7 A' t4 N / K; \. X- e5 s2 z0 I( n# d2 j ( k- _& p& \, t7 v+ [+ K; AMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 7 N2 G, p7 z; f$ b) G3 ?
, O2 n i. c# C" s3 ?/ L , n* ?! s* _3 m0 y2 B( HThe Expat Exodus 1 }1 Y4 C( n, i# v/ B' ?2 L8 lOn 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. $ K& h# n @5 u2 z0 U
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ! v4 M3 J' m1 j H4 K. T i/ z
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2 K" J& m2 x* Y( H 《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。7 h7 x0 z! u3 Q6 e- ~* O) H6 N
4 G9 \6 \* e+ W, M+ K- C' AThe People's Liberation Army , ]' d/ _/ f- n
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. . D% \; E7 h+ v
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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. $ c! H% b& Z) s8 b0 C! N+ g7 q+ W% w5 ^5 E! m# `5 O$ f4 v
$ w! V* ]4 V' Z Y `( _! m" p0 sMilton 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. 5 G" x2 q9 M! y, g9 i' R1 ~
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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. 4 N5 m7 ]4 J. r( r8 p8 }" p: G% A ) z, m% L$ O( d7 S& I8 l " K" G. S# x' {: `6 s W+ R" iHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. + Y* E* M; }- [ J 6 k: U( A- C3 L# v ) D2 }8 [8 O9 O2 k' q( U/ p ' g# K: D* G! l: ?* E! }3 F# i/ f. ^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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