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。7 o& G& B8 S. m/ ^; Q
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0 F/ o4 f. k. d9 V) J. L$ Q1 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。8 D' R; D6 g" m( g- T
, c$ i8 D$ ^* k0 l+ W; q- H: Q 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。 0 c2 z* p e) {& J4 e$ @/ H: K% Z : J7 ~5 w! x6 o, d: q* V$ I4 y% l , ~/ Z, ~; W5 G* PJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. % F8 M- p0 A Y! t- H4 ?7 w3 f) \5 o; q ( Q# |2 k0 i+ J! t. QFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.% k% [( m( |- @! m4 l) _
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% {4 f5 y% w1 ] * o4 u! C+ Z+ e q9 O+ N3 hMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ; w# k9 x. v; A, c/ M* H
6 g9 m" |0 u1 U6 V- e, E 2 Z1 y- }" [, x6 c5 ~! |The Expat Exodus , T7 ?) h" V' [! e" Z; \; M, R; D
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. + D- C% I6 C6 j" N , ]" s3 |, I6 v& a- E
" m# F2 X: t- a0 Q* ^# n. \% y6 x& E2 m Emigration ) E0 H, `* W' L+ Q
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. / R3 T5 L7 _6 V9 Q 0 j7 o" x% T& y1 q( J- K
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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。 ) t+ e: r2 ^# l: N ( @& l5 w4 ^1 u% l% y) }
《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。 9 d5 _7 W7 S0 O5 u& q: w0 R% u8 ] ) I3 E) c' c7 W9 d" `& S8 P1 G作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
& B0 ?( s# l- o3 X. tThe People's Liberation Army . Z' _: W' P! ~8 b" [* i* n, m" y: jA 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. # n+ S {! s. w" x d4 J: O6 O/ d
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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. % S6 b" h4 G: u2 V . x, M) Q7 k$ g1 `6 g( Q , q! c& t+ Y; M( Q8 w8 j1 M+ k8 u' q5 C" W, D$ t. j: R* E" 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. 7 a) o3 b7 S' Q6 T1 Y% t
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0 H9 c" P! O1 {1 N0 S " b6 a$ B+ L+ P/ ~9 Q5 JWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 4 [0 A2 K1 u5 K: M8 t0 o5 c0 k$ ~( q7 I7 p7 F3 D, c ~3 J & d6 G, i& ~7 A3 N7 n& n
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 9 \" D/ t. D1 _( m9 i- w" d: D; y3 @) M3 n6 p
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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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