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 k) |7 H; k, D" I, K m' y1 x: m! n1 S) @9 u 9 i- O, }! e1 N% }+ Y0 R
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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。8 M! m& a6 |, n F
. v6 d; h7 Y8 q- Y 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。# V2 }/ x! e. n: d5 {7 E9 ^8 L
6 L8 s( t. R' j1 X9 W" j- O/ o# }3 _ 5 N4 c9 Y! Y6 G' `7 O1 D$ kJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. ( v9 x5 }- Y: R4 c' V! t; {+ D- @- U# c- b6 x1 C$ f9 c4 C3 A 1 {+ {1 r" |0 n7 b# H# T 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. + _, M/ D8 m2 G3 E8 {6 ~( I/ W L6 b3 R/ L2 A
' N! [8 D, c; v3 m6 ^% ? 6 K# J( l/ g3 l( I+ d. h March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 5 N# F) B( m( |! W; V# f ' O/ B! M3 K. ~) m0 v) \3 c % }& \7 D5 e6 \) d2 y oThe Expat Exodus * T9 y$ V$ r+ }# ~( O% EOn 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. 7 W7 C" k; T/ Q1 m4 ^8 c. U
. g& F, l: U/ h) Q( \0 F . M1 x! L5 g* x% U9 { . i7 a' d' a5 Z' t' g yEmigration 6 q; r. f R1 G6 { F' k/ g
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. : P4 Z$ G5 M' l' d! H0 N 5 X6 \- l) R3 \* e( ]* t
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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。 7 F5 n$ b9 u9 y. d/ ^5 O2 ~. f ( w5 O# h& N* m/ I% q2 s 《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。( f. O' ~$ @& {$ S
4 u+ f9 V! L- ]& ]0 L The People's Liberation Army ; B( C* U4 P# e6 HA 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 v1 D5 J i+ m I
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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. ! R; _/ y! ^' V) d" v
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0 s6 {, A }, Z' g' Q; h: N, [+ T 1 n: ?) i! W* BMilton 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. ) _/ L. q; v5 I/ N( B5 p! v 7 {* y! t6 n- r0 Y! b0 o. U1 F2 L9 O 8 Z& ?7 Y5 ?' B, C/ |
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.$ h1 j. ?9 @/ G* S+ T0 ^
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Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ' j7 h* \+ A* [: d
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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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