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。9 ?! C8 i) B9 n+ F7 `, ] l
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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。7 X' x# `0 B6 B+ z
0 H2 i: {. K& g0 J2 H- N) C* A# i 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。+ s1 `. M: R1 T0 g+ i
4 K, J) S8 d' q" m, y) u4 i3 e / {* {/ L1 h- |7 C w% yJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.+ `* O" s% A7 y- j; N
+ D- Z# ]$ I- Y# y: |7 e / y( e; i5 |/ L/ d3 r2 d+ SFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.3 R2 L) j) h$ K
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9 C( ^5 B: M8 E ! [1 D+ S" ~/ K0 B FMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. $ t" V; H1 ~: E# n + h2 j* G5 V$ a9 b! Y2 M+ {! z. K1 a1 |" J+ Q The Expat Exodus 7 H+ x& m# l& N4 d7 y! vOn 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. ) m7 Q: A+ z2 b% W 7 H' C2 B- b- ~/ a0 `7 t V; r3 Y/ O$ k/ Y8 F/ B' l/ U , M' S4 ]# |& r- V8 YEmigration / G& i, X: X4 V3 B$ ]- B8 X; {Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 0 b' b& K5 q% h; q G8 U. a- }( Q, ]7 U : ~4 y1 e$ m+ ~3 q; X 《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。8 Q, h, r' d7 ~4 v$ |7 v
% v( q0 n0 f. A" S8 i The People's Liberation Army % T u6 `* @8 ?; E7 |, Q! t; u1 ~. C
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. / c; d4 E& v" ^+ p, j
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1 P) O1 ]* M5 Q, M( J 8 o9 H) F3 O4 wVictoria 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. ' R8 ~, ^" D4 d& X4 L B ' c! Z; o J w3 F: c0 E5 F1 q2 M7 l0 h, Y + V- W4 V6 O$ ~
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. 0 o$ n& m* A$ T1 ]7 G0 p3 R0 D8 k" {& L0 L
! T, X1 p0 K- S0 t3 d6 _ ! W0 K& t& e$ W& }With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 5 W Q# O( G( b) I0 O" j3 _! M; l$ `7 p' T$ D5 m9 h # k% A; j; N' |6 `; h) U& O7 U4 t' Y
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 h% |4 s: J$ T- N$ o# u8 D. m2 l: J( k6 P& r9 i. w
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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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