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。 % j. x* d7 L, E1 o% j 0 ?& f5 x. d% q6 m4 h5 ^8 R ' [& ~/ o' x; d1 A " ]5 \, M9 I4 Y5 g) Z' ~( s% i2 D7 s) f
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。& B u6 M1 ^0 k8 s
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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。 . s8 Z( P6 Q# p3 w' ?" T3 |2 k) l # }8 g ?) o: r9 l . i* E/ W' g7 H W7 [' J8 u. E; O- [July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.; ~, I& E, {. ~; l9 L3 L' c8 g# N
' j0 {2 m1 \% [: u( y - V; {6 H1 V9 j* W0 bFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. . m1 y; c7 W5 J2 W/ J8 w- x , o- i9 H/ N; ^, {% |+ K1 a/ o - n1 C* b" Z+ }9 @3 h1 b. d( y# p7 i2 \ # n% R* w/ m& RMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 8 W A" [- }! y1 U$ j4 |
: O' g: W& o( K1 S. `5 y$ v9 p: h+ k/ e% \" G The Expat Exodus ( V% p5 m. ~% s' rOn 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. , a/ b7 P# G; Y" U/ | 5 M k; |$ _6 j
; R1 a" [0 e; E0 b5 j1 W7 ~5 Q. h ! ^9 L8 z( M7 F! K, c* ?Emigration 5 N* u, _" r& l
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 7 y. T# j# @6 R# z1 A d/ n
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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。 ) `9 V" e# `9 U9 i" X . d- Z$ v; J; \, ]6 P8 d* f) Y9 t4 I. m 《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。 , l C7 ]' Z/ S* h7 p! f1 T& k # o( l9 D% E: v作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
6 G. x; C; H$ d' ~& _ The People's Liberation Army 8 a6 S+ T& l6 p) F
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. 7 J5 o' `8 f: F! ?. T5 Q1 z" u6 G" K% I% u
) i( L+ `9 C$ H& K+ Q 0 |3 V& m; v, a! z% k9 AVictoria 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. % l! ]4 _7 o0 Q+ [& j. s1 U) p
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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. 8 _: T, \+ s, V; k 5 Z/ p- g$ a" Z) y% E0 \* [ $ G! E: ?+ E0 h5 ~8 X; u4 N- p# J8 x# }( [- ^( |4 ^
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.$ H% L% j* n, [5 U1 s6 G) i
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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. / Z; J) D8 ] \0 s: Y% P/ v - C. Y& @6 c$ ~- G 7 k( t$ f: U2 ~& ]) c3 c8 z' s, S! K6 S, r
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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