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。 ' T! Q5 }+ f S. _% ^& W+ k% [ % x7 D+ Q: y; e$ U . M6 x$ `# f3 n- y$ W% @: b# A/ m q5 b; C
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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。' U9 T# G& H0 S/ U- c
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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。1 B) H! @/ E7 [* u4 w, a
, F" @# E9 u6 L3 i$ N- i3 K- N+ h4 q; v- G" P, u$ ~* c8 e July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. ; t* k; ?1 K" P3 o5 e% a# _ g7 D5 x& }3 S# L Q " a" n8 G; Y/ o+ W 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.6 K- x+ t1 N9 R& `0 t, t8 f- }
. r8 G0 R$ c- F; j3 O0 \ # C2 P& Q% N/ m" S) P4 i ; |% d! f& W% M2 W2 |# j8 e6 r9 RMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. E6 p# ^3 L$ `! q% t" F) P. }# k3 {) F8 V* U3 a , w' g4 A% @- s The Expat Exodus ( |5 z3 U1 l' o" g: m' o
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. % h, c* q/ F0 K9 N
8 f. r5 |! @! B6 n' D9 b4 D" d: Y & f7 \+ ~" ` J" F2 p 7 f/ p; ~, H& ?. q4 g' {Emigration , \! B# n0 S1 C9 `! _* O3 B FJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 2 t" M L; L8 f$ ^, W/ ] : j q5 x# M# a3 A* f : j" J) T) V- r' Z; H- h 《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。 3 K' ?+ B5 j" E3 F& d* `, o! e 0 u$ \1 @- Z; b4 ?2 S' o
《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。3 X! N" f1 ]' I( n0 r) D
# W4 }% Z9 s3 Z( v7 o" n' I# } }0 o The People's Liberation Army 3 b% D9 ^& W8 n) _* ~' ~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. * m3 V+ [ ]/ S2 B! N4 Z% Y0 z) V% j1 |7 \2 h4 ?
6 Y. [$ ?! B _; l7 {& e 1 E! Z9 p. k( y" oVictoria 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. , }% @( f2 |% J! G& A
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0 I' l. K3 ]; j& M( `/ o6 X 2 e. R. J. i+ s5 g7 x7 t7 W' `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. & Z' Q0 t' z# u0 W$ t0 w
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With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.8 \) b& }8 e4 d$ T- f6 m. @
" w, z8 N0 D, L9 n, r 3 u$ Z# C2 U; d$ k% J- [5 C0 u* IHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. # Z0 n9 E% O+ c) ~
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# A7 G0 z* f9 B1 D! c1 z0 X & @- @# e. Q# OContrary 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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