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。/ C t* J0 P- s$ `& b5 ^) @8 E
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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。 6 ^5 ~6 r v0 y& y$ g5 o4 A3 s; M # e, |; ^' W. z1 N2 k/ `) f V' P 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。 X# ~3 c% ?, s4 e5 S* }) G
+ O3 ?' W$ T3 M- \; M; g/ Y( P $ k# W: b( W! @& J/ dJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.3 S- x0 h: M* S7 ]' y$ d
% F. {0 d( p9 c+ E3 ?% r 1 z8 ^- \; C# E w. l/ e* m/ L' v 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.( k' R: \* d" Y+ g3 A
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+ M: R; f1 q7 r* Z8 X2 H + e9 [$ n$ }1 z! h, c) m, ^/ VMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. , |" Y" J2 ?/ ~$ ]/ @! e1 c; s3 ^8 [3 q0 S7 h/ t- \( m7 Y & q0 @5 ]1 r5 y/ t3 E$ P, z The Expat Exodus ) y O1 t% @6 b- BOn 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. 1 e) D6 p( |3 A2 m1 Z: _
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0 g+ P' h! D2 l9 J7 J4 D% w) s * U7 d6 _: y, d( [Emigration 5 X5 Y8 m' U$ d4 q# c+ KJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. # Z$ L3 v6 H: ` P9 L 6 ~2 @& B& x5 N3 h4 X
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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 Z9 _% ]* B6 @
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《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。 9 l! O( N# A! O% s i5 a" [5 b7 y 1 j( b1 l3 `3 W1 g作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
5 @4 P2 j* \( U1 n/ s- c, A The People's Liberation Army 9 q9 ?3 P ?: W! V' L" W' x
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. ' W- b' q) k. `0 \( R* b
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4 l' I8 P9 M: X+ }( F 8 N7 w! [# I& EVictoria 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. 1 D8 N/ n+ w1 V8 z& g9 K
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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. o' N" O: U% J8 c$ Z3 j# V+ B! O D$ @% h; Q
# e% A# O: R H' u) c1 _! I + m) X2 Y0 p: bWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. ) |1 [$ g( r/ ? y7 }# z# X+ x6 h3 }: K9 W 1 i, q+ K" T0 m W
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 9 j: S& e% h9 K
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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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