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。 3 B' K, A: A3 i5 h3 z- b3 | + }' n( i7 a4 ^" ?5 B. s9 D A 3 ?7 ?- ^3 c% F; n
R; B2 D# W5 _/ z' | 8 W3 I9 e$ ~! l. L d 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 V; H/ i U. }% Y 0 d7 o' l) M% z" S6 U
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。0 Y5 ^0 o6 h: n: F0 f4 l! ^
t& K) G6 f# e3 S + N8 F, w& M3 X' ~& z ?2 z July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. + u0 y0 e4 m6 I5 l2 G' W! Q d* X8 n1 L, S $ e% g0 K' X( w1 R 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.9 V1 _$ ^' P3 U; f! z
6 m. _$ c! M1 D+ Q% K |. ]6 J- v 8 G; ~9 d o7 ]' {March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 4 \ Z" S9 [6 U$ B) f9 W) Q
. N( u# ~) g: p: J/ \8 L 4 l) _8 D9 }, K! Y: t7 h3 LThe Expat Exodus # ~5 ^0 _% r' F G7 M7 h9 p1 wOn 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. ) P! t3 W% j, k; Y4 H0 | % v1 c6 W# N& f ~- N ( x' k+ J+ P0 O6 } 9 J% n9 R8 A. N6 B7 o8 uEmigration & x# J# X, r' I. R
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. * N- H3 ] T; A
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& E0 e( H* S) J) T& a8 X 《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。+ t" W9 X4 f3 h1 u }6 r
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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。 ! I1 o5 a6 W7 Y0 T$ M; u# k ; R+ m5 p- |. x" @1 _ 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
% f7 q: L0 \& P$ u( eThe People's Liberation Army 9 U+ S+ D0 w/ E
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. % y( U, M% y( O
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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. ( t( q- E8 k" d/ z- Y
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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. % N2 I c/ }+ ^/ s5 f% p# P : h+ a. c2 e, l+ W 4 t) d/ E8 [& e# r + p: x) J' v) X! n4 u3 I" ^With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. - N0 e5 _. K4 X- G( e' X, D5 m$ M. V) B' u' `# H) f7 }$ J 5 z9 x4 m0 W. O. ~Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. / ^$ m7 l3 F3 w/ Z) D6 s- j 0 U$ V5 q0 E! x% o, i% Z # Y5 J5 q5 O7 g 5 N2 `3 E. E: J; RContrary 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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