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。 6 O8 Y2 s& [6 o; r. P `# E( ^ M / B. b7 n" {4 C7 U8 ] ! e4 H4 F6 ]- x$ z) P
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$ \7 `7 z) E, S! D' S- { 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。, `; i! r8 N& |7 `* l4 |
, n( v! `5 X, @5 O* ^' ~9 \ 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 O' o9 W @, _; {
F. v' Q; a; x1 ]# f/ W 5 d; k* @8 M5 ~2 B! `/ B- @0 jJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.% x7 |3 e# B3 t+ q3 x' m
* \5 q& S/ _5 o6 n: N9 o! w ' K1 x; d( O' A* K3 a8 qFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 5 d' Z3 A4 t/ A! T & M. }5 K( m) ]# e6 ?6 G9 s1 j5 g- @4 s ]& L5 l1 G4 H9 B/ n # d7 t+ b* G f8 E3 HMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 2 ?- ~% m8 c0 ]& I+ M 5 n, v) _ H) E% G$ j4 D( F0 F, D' g; `2 d# D2 h The Expat Exodus ( \, {- p6 n# i6 dOn 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. $ R$ `' }0 b4 H$ D0 ]
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8 e+ R. S$ z+ z9 |3 B / f% V( U8 \+ N! C) U# z) oEmigration 1 B6 s" l5 V; O/ }- U6 g9 [3 EJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. # a8 @) |, w6 K+ Y" A
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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。' H$ t) u/ v1 i
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《时代》称，港人在争取民主方面的想法过于“实际”。有权投票选行政长官的八百名选委，大部分来自商界，他们普遍认为普选特首会引入平民领导人、令香港变成福利社会；另一方面又怕惹怒中央，影响自身利益。* V) @4 }; M' R v
; c' l! p ]6 Y9 _' a4 U5 IThe People's Liberation Army - N# S# \* H: s. z# m7 KA 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 T5 @* U+ p% a0 r) G1 w0 A2 m% b% h" H; D/ {
, T& Y. ^, S& [ e& D : o; [; W5 [) E& T% a& [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. ( l3 p. t& @/ D; i ?1 s0 c' }& O
& ^8 q. \4 P. ]1 r9 [4 h 8 u3 Z* k5 a: _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. ' B5 G; j: q, Z7 G5 |/ z* R7 h/ _) z. J% `6 t
- O, J6 s- P2 r; x9 y0 |( d $ A V" C' }, ?% q& XWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 5 n: z) H3 f9 f : u! I S3 _ j% C5 c) N" P6 B: l) y; Q7 b. t+ p
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 1 A( t9 A; b1 M$ B/ G4 [# C2 @: b
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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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