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。$ h$ K+ J+ Z& V' T
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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 Q+ r# ~. U c4 L " a3 E$ z7 l: l% T" ?# V
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。" l& I( }/ P2 b) K
9 Z' i( I' O8 ^4 w+ b; I: `4 n( i; q; n* d+ x! ` July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 7 f1 R1 }6 m6 c9 U# H" U ; P1 ^: L5 f5 Y$ t 8 B1 W& S O% p* l- d2 WFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.' N8 h# ?7 C* }/ U/ X
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. i6 }, l4 x4 W, m# o - G3 C/ i+ T, s' N8 H) l9 t) \, ^% rMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. * U3 {- ?1 j" @* p& t
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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. ; d/ D! r6 ]( @& A; n0 S, J: y* O
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( h- p; X; Y5 T; Y p* @ . j0 T" ?* {& O1 r; K Emigration 7 `" w" O- l. X5 l; A2 V2 |2 e/ PJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 8 Y% P+ _% V, I" D % Q, Y8 `) Z2 H4 Q K: D7 U; M
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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。 6 V v5 [1 Z+ q# t/ a5 | # L# Z2 }% b6 q
《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。 ) ]; n+ {' ]% M+ C" \1 _5 V5 ]: v' k 6 k% [) P! m7 M, z8 w6 X0 I作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
* B( {- A" ?- L$ J j+ g7 bThe People's Liberation Army - [7 N2 j) d; UA 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. ( B' h) @4 ?) j( N* t! Z/ M 2 R3 T+ D: p8 @" h g , a; S* a% Y0 G7 k4 T! N4 K7 A
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. 7 H5 F- H8 z1 X) v" l ' K# a6 z8 Q4 c) M1 O( N' T+ x6 Z4 ^0 m4 r+ A/ `; M$ t: J* } 6 t$ _+ F4 C! Y1 n! H- x+ t3 S: u
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. : Y: J8 G" p/ Y. I- W % |7 Z& {2 K" b/ k W , \) K- X5 S0 L # M5 g: R8 z/ o; Q- TWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. ; z& v) b( y2 O W! Z" p5 p0 z% O% _- t( h. j% p ; Q) V; X5 o8 `& ~6 D3 x4 DHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. . E" Q1 y& S- @ @: f+ y9 `4 j0 j1 V* w! B& n% C- u1 G
+ e: k) t! Y( O0 P : S& F1 L& g3 q7 gContrary 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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