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。 ; q% t' |0 X& e1 Q# P+ B 5 U" G1 i5 h6 B! Z3 f3 M % L2 b) k9 z% a3 d , q# [ v7 t3 K- a# ~ B 8 @. T2 Q$ P% v 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。, R& \2 t( B# B/ p
& W" P6 a8 f# U" U/ t* j
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。 ) [3 c7 b8 r3 `$ {$ ` ' f6 S4 P q! q% I . b; ^! } {! q July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. " ?$ e$ @3 [$ m6 P: a c ! u$ Q" c8 y- E7 @6 V g8 d1 l6 H) p$ X) D7 L3 k 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.! C' M1 ]( E! ^, _) n: Z
' T) p, Z* k2 C7 m8 m
5 i8 E* n7 ~4 w0 [5 q) y, y 9 |& L; F/ s& n# l7 c" ^ March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 0 g+ X5 m# ]& v2 b3 c
' f# L1 C' v% R" A# y - |4 A/ _" |* J3 k/ \The Expat Exodus ! I6 x! y' x. _3 L: G1 D k$ ?- SOn 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. 1 x1 f; Z: e5 G . P, L" T$ D9 h# F& M1 i
/ D1 g) u% h% s" D 6 ?$ v$ P# |# p# E. v" KEmigration 9 }3 V: g3 x4 t9 D; B2 K nJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. , |' V) s {% w. z3 e! K8 c
+ H3 C P3 n; S6 w
- y7 g% v. a/ A, }
《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。+ P, ^! u [& a. L+ O0 R$ a/ h
8 b& ~* }& j6 ^4 v, 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。' V. Y$ G/ {1 }7 |* Y
! Y7 `( f% n: P 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
" |1 L; r* z& ^( h$ E- e6 lThe People's Liberation Army 9 j' Q! c- { n+ _2 g. Z3 x. ^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. ! z: h0 c# C( }- |1 y, G
- [$ `1 I# B$ g% R( u( O) w9 d2 f
" Y( Y5 ]0 y! N+ F4 i# R ; X* u$ {& E- F% FVictoria 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. 0 Z8 K2 O3 \- [4 D9 f9 u y3 r7 ?
7 I! t* ^9 G+ m) W, O 1 ]. E$ D# r; I* Z, b X7 E+ [" ], \! ?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. + A5 I9 |) T* P
, Z4 V" q1 e5 A' H$ B9 `/ p. v
( c$ n+ g8 z& _1 V8 F1 v4 M0 G% u0 u9 \2 R2 Q O
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 0 ^) d, l7 }8 ?9 U& u0 n! z" o- c5 Y+ O) ^; K d9 p s : S: v; |* G: k' b2 T
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. " D0 b0 l R6 Y7 n
$ }; p9 {' e- [+ P( y5 w- [ ; _9 g+ f8 {, O6 x* J, A; k D1 U3 r; \& a
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.
. b; ^! } {! q
6 H) p$ X) D7 L3 k
9 |& L; F/ s& n# l7 c" ^
4 M0 G% u0 u9 \2 R2 Q O
: S: v; |* G: k' b2 T
, A; k D1 U3 r; \& a