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。0 A& ]# Z6 w) d; l: g* U
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& i- t( F2 u1 N6 d1 { 9 ]0 |& c/ `: N; w. |6 u v# a 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。5 a! z& |6 R4 K( R5 a. w1 ^
0 O0 j0 [: Q1 a4 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。 $ F" J' O J; ^1 {# t/ ~ N0 Z7 Y' c2 y 8 v$ V0 j( x( A, a8 i# J% QJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.! T( E' U6 R; J4 B
6 f1 [ D5 M6 Z# S4 C" G* y 6 ~% E- _4 H$ m+ {! Q- Y$ [Feb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. % G; i* o- t2 V2 j5 v" h- g9 u6 r* F) Q/ S% j% P
0 M o$ P; I4 A6 U9 r ' B, W( I; N- d& sMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. / M, p" O) ~0 w6 b( Y$ O+ B
* H+ z' a( e3 I2 F& |% q8 h- H/ S2 ^6 K; { The Expat Exodus 3 z- G) m- M4 v' cOn 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. % v, N8 C: u8 B! ~
1 Y; v9 e s; ? A& u . m7 T& x+ I7 x7 W8 w& k- S 0 z4 C( y( H1 x" Q/ w& f; { Emigration 0 s* O' G" ^$ U" C+ rJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. : r) j" ?. j3 Y1 ]3 O 5 K) |$ i4 c# `9 d' ]8 p 6 D: h' D# u# r
《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。 - ~3 d! I. E& K3 r9 j8 J; K2 U 0 p- j. w4 s' z% S# R 《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。5 O z! M% s, ]+ t5 L
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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. % _2 m( m1 N% E) ~1 L: W
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) a* m2 `& C! Z+ Y , r1 P7 E! c3 c4 G7 _7 m* p' z! OVictoria 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. 1 z' h% O8 J6 z+ M- ?" }+ j" p2 s
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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. + S! K5 s/ y& B7 H
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) G. Q Y; ]# g$ l* j % J9 w+ I& Y4 ^! E& `8 dWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. ; n8 e2 Q' Q% ]1 O3 i 8 r5 o$ T% Z) J0 ?" F' ?7 H7 K7 z c! l8 J* f" M
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. . ^3 S% M K# V* L
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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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