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。 , ]+ u) J6 n* ~, q* ? / h' m& w. |, x. l9 Z' p9 S 2 ?' N0 {0 k( V4 O8 G0 k! p - c' r l( P5 H9 m5 n3 P! C, ]% Q U
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。+ H) X: { z' y: @
0 o) |+ y: o9 f( x 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。 / j' p) _: H% Z8 a# Y$ t2 j a {# r$ k- Z- Q0 O% Q7 T. G7 ~ - \! p) k# o8 G5 x# @1 S( p July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 3 V# M# M7 A, v, y( w; K ; Y2 ~" \: t" K+ I& M+ P# U# {4 Y! g& c: h 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. b- ~" u% D, ` i5 y7 u2 j) S8 q$ {" p- K7 Q. ]8 `, Q% \ K# q/ p
9 `, w0 R" m+ x U . j9 i; Z3 J3 s i- h- h8 t# EMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ( ^. |/ k* `# W8 L1 g% b
: L+ E7 Q8 f+ [9 H 0 K5 _% D5 N1 k# |; ^+ cThe Expat Exodus . _2 A" l/ K [2 G8 K `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. % J' q" u6 k0 ?7 L* t2 v# p ! O8 s: F- {/ F5 N 4 o. b* S; a; o$ ^% G 3 F, N( T+ J2 t! ~Emigration 3 G- q( y$ G/ P' A5 ]5 S, WJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 0 R' ^3 t* h# Q) |# ^( m
8 W$ N0 M8 [) i+ x# }; E6 f : _4 p' g4 c. B/ @3 ~ 《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。 8 Z2 I- T& d9 J2 a) a% o8 S ! G, E5 i" X! J: h4 G 《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 \9 b% g+ q$ Y$ k& Y 8 S" U- h# s1 f8 u作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
* P' V7 \. f; W5 n: d& R7 o The People's Liberation Army 3 ~* Z- j: @/ k0 s% e! E% [; 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. 5 H6 _* F5 n* o/ e* m$ O H5 Y3 k5 Y0 ]/ |7 u
# [/ a, D. {9 \2 x, R0 F0 ] 6 k- P1 {9 p0 i+ B' v$ W8 ~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. 2 i( n; j3 {7 g! `% a
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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. ( K9 f, P$ j6 G& r; o5 X
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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.% z+ \7 S) C* q7 L8 n
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Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ! q* i( A; f% ]4 H2 i9 d [! s
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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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