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。 * @6 s5 r+ p; L5 x , ?$ f$ w" ^. z 0 v6 `1 O5 t7 ^# |- R
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' t0 u9 l& T l7 p 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。' _- n9 X+ n0 K, d* w/ j) J
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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。 ) r8 ]* v/ F3 |( O; B" J! Y' } " H' }, R; G7 d' z& c1 ~9 J ! q6 S, a0 e: j# |July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 3 Q/ e' y+ v& m; b3 a ( v, m. T! X5 E j- q7 Y5 ?8 O1 E; w. P' x" s 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.4 b0 X0 t- |+ l* S; ~5 Y- P
% V, ~# I' {4 F7 q : S' V @. s+ ^" }, k$ n " t$ R) u' T- [$ dMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. * i/ x' C5 f3 T9 k& p
- _7 q% e- l' ~& g+ Q% t/ d! ]: T% |6 [% m& d9 m The Expat Exodus . M& E" j2 D% a: S
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. 8 N7 z8 D. Y2 N/ j: A; F' C& t 0 f' Y* a" |5 V
: `! [, E4 B0 Y: c) g F7 | % \% F: @, a4 z$ h+ i% s6 A" x- e Emigration - O; i0 n* f1 f" d7 rJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. d% F W Y' y- }
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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。0 j. v& S4 W1 \ c; H& s
: i# B: w) S' [0 t3 ]" K. f) b作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
6 M: A( N7 U. v, H& e. w The People's Liberation Army $ ^* `& _) n* f( T. S) z
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. % @+ X; \% a3 m; P6 ?
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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. ; s C3 K6 m8 i4 r3 i" |
T8 D, @' \4 `1 y 6 E. v3 R/ s! S* s) F u/ d7 Y2 @( W 9 s# e+ t Z( B# Y. Z `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. & A8 J* s1 Z, G3 l/ a5 n5 h
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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. ; X! T" F3 k. b/ j$ \& W* { S : C/ D) s( T6 c7 c9 }' r 8 C( q& x. O. OHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. % O0 p' I/ F' O. i; {( E0 g# R! b4 W ! i6 l4 v9 w* ^* F j9 U& L5 M' k% E. A$ G0 V& M! U ! }- X6 {, W' k* O. yContrary 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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