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。5 ^: b# f: _$ k8 z
& T$ y3 h2 k d$ D' @3 B" g& @ $ l. q( ~$ \9 ]8 _$ H 1 W+ M E! \! j4 q 6 I! j, I1 {( G/ H* ^+ J 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。0 D c7 f( Q; d- o
) u( p' B/ |7 O% Y$ s 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。 . O) ? G E. `. ~+ j: ]# y$ ? , m8 i+ _+ j G( t. k! K2 J2 ~# c S: m4 J W July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.7 p: B" f: L ~3 U5 @+ E L
' R# n4 M5 ~& M/ d7 q; p. B 0 b2 n2 c, ]4 }4 k: ^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. % d8 ? V6 d/ A* v2 S) }7 P" v. ]% a0 e2 i. f
% |- k, f+ R9 h + E/ T) N* ^ v3 R- {! HMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ! [4 C! o4 m$ t $ u, C) X7 q! h- P5 V( a& }: o; Y, Q! F The Expat Exodus ! c# {: r3 R2 Y& L
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. 7 j" F1 m) a: r" S$ U6 P6 Y : _8 v9 Q; m* F7 Y N ) A' m# ]0 U0 A" m3 h - w$ G' n7 u) V, j8 g! ~; V- I" zEmigration & m) [' n0 o; I* p3 k! tJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. : [/ ^7 N9 b& u
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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。 8 s# `) }$ r. Y, o/ O. h% U ' O V$ ^( T. Z' X$ V3 z( Y 《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。 , d V% o8 {' P7 s 7 F" S' u8 Q5 G5 Q1 \$ z$ w6 D 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
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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 L0 d# y6 x, Z0 T! K% ] ' c O U0 k9 f; X, Q: G% r% K, c1 [0 E+ L) J9 p 1 j: n6 F) Q9 S( v! _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. 3 S- s; h6 z3 [( j4 t! T1 w9 P6 |
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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. : K, X; S, z" X$ [
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! G4 D! R E) p) E9 q / Z. y, I/ C% n7 D# \+ iWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.- ]- l1 c% K% x4 }; e: \1 I! y, y. U
- V2 i6 n& s4 \* O7 L3 m : |: p$ q$ L3 W, l1 W# C9 fHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. . l9 `: m6 M$ r" G: D0 l + v1 a+ y+ K9 g6 c" X% ]5 @$ v( k& ~ S8 j% u 8 w) N+ S' p" @
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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