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 y) X9 t* U% }! O+ l % [% K6 t8 c. t0 e, M6 V# ` + }7 [; f. J% A
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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。; {2 H2 I, n. @, d2 o! |0 R
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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。* D9 I# h2 I$ f: \+ ~
/ x1 Z( X: e! ^1 \5 r / C/ t4 i& u. V9 ?4 y% GJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.; D( r6 {" D# R0 Z% _; Z8 U2 l
# _$ a$ x9 f+ w) t" |1 ]* z* K4 Y: |$ w4 j3 M 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. 5 O% s7 C9 P3 l. e+ q# Z% c % u% w! B- }& ]6 x) d, w( \; o/ N+ f5 I! H, r# h! | Y1 a T1 Y: t5 E* u! mMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. / n8 m$ C$ W" Z
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On 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. % e- G# I! |0 j" c ( ~) e4 K* ]; F( t* K- N+ g
- t: A4 R$ e5 u0 ] ' j* C4 ~3 Y/ T5 O1 x6 r0 EEmigration & g% n! a* D) \- x% u- R' JJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. - |* Z$ J" i' T2 R
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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。* o7 X( y- t: w1 A# B
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《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。; X: M X; m& \1 s; C! w; n
4 d! O9 w. M H/ y7 } The People's Liberation Army ' I$ a' {4 w5 S" e0 N }1 D% i0 o
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. 0 c3 P- m, V) a0 K) w! l7 D6 @
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+ M& y+ j: B. @8 z2 H 6 D/ ]6 T" |' e8 g t) T/ RVictoria 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. 4 N/ O0 y+ d+ u" ] - [- i0 e. o5 W: S - E; O7 A" c2 g( N# w+ A9 N7 k* E & V& n' Z% J- P; HMilton 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. 8 {, N6 O; |) n3 t2 `5 n, V3 m' s: ~0 V6 f p3 G
1 p2 t+ C! Z/ C ( C5 _+ |% L2 F+ w/ hWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. & f2 G1 v6 `6 Q " B( A" L( Q( f u1 G4 a; o& j' a- Z- u9 \
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 8 j. x X7 O2 G* [ : Z. J( N3 T# b6 G. m% D' ~. c' q $ ] ^5 E0 `2 G% j3 Z8 L & A- x9 U n6 y: kContrary 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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