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。 ' N4 Z/ ?* S& S8 g3 Z' Y # F( E. u- i$ @! J3 [9 K9 W2 H% d! D
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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。 $ n* F0 m h/ Y$ s. s/ g4 |: Q 7 x3 c0 d2 a& l( d1 z) _ 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。; v4 f# q, {$ q6 H1 j2 S
( Y0 _ V0 [' k* J+ C I& o2 Z( k, o! ]6 b" V4 `# M* v. ?July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 9 C; m' A: M- V e " a4 W; [" M8 Y: B , M: Y8 V% K& k+ e: 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. 0 R0 Z9 ~! B5 V# b 4 o: H, j, o- u2 D* } 9 R. X. r. f8 s0 u 3 s' d6 c7 h; F6 O% M* U7 lMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. , w3 n q! ^$ W& a( C+ Q$ W6 d
- ^/ h+ N O8 @ 0 }) U8 N+ s {: D/ a. h- U0 \/ Y& zThe Expat Exodus 5 f- m# ~7 C4 R2 t# Z8 w) 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. / W. L; L( P: y! X! Q) c
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: [2 g$ e/ ?- E3 W- O$ k- O6 F! \ 2 u' Q; c; G: p* j* s& w/ w- H. w2 h Emigration d& H7 b: P0 |) E) d
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. $ e* x7 o5 U# W/ c5 P6 Y
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" o, ~1 F6 r' P" A6 {2 VThe People's Liberation Army 8 o$ R% g3 v4 u7 SA 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. 5 J S& [4 G3 M3 B$ F- \1 j 8 K- p J; N$ V ]8 D2 V+ u, c% @# L+ y+ o 4 @; a5 n+ B$ M J* ^
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. ! y, d) H v2 y( T& B+ H4 h + O. {/ [" s( m' ~ # l$ ], L% B. o3 T' b) i+ `% G* e" s3 G6 V( K
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. 7 S# y p3 U$ H [" o0 s( a+ I m4 @8 e, t2 @
Z7 ^/ a! T0 Q - N O6 a& ~1 g! T- D# j& c, NWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.- b5 ?. Z4 b- v" I$ d; E3 f" o8 G
& k& i+ o+ l1 x% H" D7 V. C' ~ : z" Z: [ Y- |; tHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. + I( G% R- }. J/ ]# H0 O ; z% R9 ?6 l6 i" m9 e* W ; Y& c* k6 b) v* S, N, e% E, y% w( T( }. o
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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