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。 ; p* W9 }# `* c: e) L / L3 G6 C- a ^ Q 4 | S6 Z' v2 w# \2 ]
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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。 $ G- j' [! f7 H& f! |3 B; r7 E8 o/ M8 B % w: q" u2 I: Y+ M
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。/ E% Q3 Y$ W% n$ U9 t3 C& X
, \/ R: ]# s/ \7 T% ` . d) ]8 d+ [2 C6 V( M/ O/ TJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. . \, K; {9 G# C' K, A8 I% G ) G; o$ K$ |1 P E- w4 K/ s! B& ]: t/ T( N A- b- f/ t% i. Y% [ 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. 8 G7 G/ d' o( [) q' a2 Z- K2 N : ?* {: i' o5 A& M$ p+ I4 q) ]+ C: g! j7 }+ R # V4 e3 Q7 r# G9 _: d* oMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 7 Z- q7 a% U, ]
) x- q. A% o q5 q N+ q ! _5 v S% R4 j5 Y5 I3 Y The Expat Exodus % }, S' S. w3 hOn 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. ( s3 d# w3 j* d, d2 X& x " R0 u- @* t& y f0 j, ]9 b) ]. [
3 J* W- J" H3 N1 S6 r: q. E, z7 `7 S+ A Emigration ) {+ ^1 A1 Y* _
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ) I8 C6 q% X8 ]1 Z6 k# D3 i
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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。' [; J% }* O" \% y
2 V* ^# A I( g$ Y/ L# I9 Q 《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。 5 n8 ~, ~, g# v% | $ O. s% p" U+ s0 C 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
% Q4 I) d* R4 q, S7 r; b% w" Q; sThe People's Liberation Army $ u- E( F8 a$ j, _; ^/ aA 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. 6 K( R' [: x( U- w, O) Z- q
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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. 9 k' ?8 v7 O% T
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3 s6 {# f/ x u+ J E* w" ~9 { ! m* @4 p8 b/ C7 Y) Y0 CMilton 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. g2 {5 C/ @: j2 _! U
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& U# f- ]- h- e$ B& [9 w. k : q j f) M- _# k0 xWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. & V0 l! v2 Y2 T& G% c! W, b% d+ e) Q d* z 0 @/ Q: X( r2 y) S; E9 L
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 3 y8 l+ o+ B( b6 g2 g6 M# e9 F c! t" D0 a5 W4 T7 C
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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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