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。 ! u b& y' {6 `5 e / P2 J# j) g0 X # f7 n6 G: A8 f+ S
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& V" S& m, ^) e6 t# l 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。5 E0 I) f, u9 S* z2 o: P: l; k- \- S
6 a4 s8 ~5 W& q0 J0 n" 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。- o) K) g9 i$ d+ h
, [4 y9 w( y$ X/ e* S' H& N7 H * g0 w; e6 @& W, [7 XJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.% j. z4 f9 U+ n8 \
9 r; I& Y. s: I9 }8 D1 \( z T# g0 ?8 E 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. . P6 v9 w% F3 g! z3 y% }/ f+ O) F/ ^. s7 y# g, ~
7 ?& e7 c$ b2 m/ w% O! Q 2 D9 y( M/ r0 _- k6 s% N March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 4 V- } h3 p9 G# {5 v' z/ }: }) ]( @# q# j+ J6 m1 O- f " h) T' n& q1 G+ S( X The Expat Exodus $ `! C d' ]4 o" @; @8 t# X1 xOn 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. * ?* K% K* S1 K, O# K
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 5 L2 T/ F+ @2 g% I ' i& q( R" C1 Q1 C' V% q+ g( q $ C& [+ `' s0 ^" m P X3 U* r
《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 l; Z3 Y. E1 ^5 |
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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。 ; x8 q5 U) d& B7 A# N# w1 D : e7 _6 D& N# X$ {, O: r! Z7 G8 ] 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
! N7 b/ ^- o3 I( s0 C9 sThe People's Liberation Army & P$ p0 K9 ~- o, _* ?, p4 D) P9 `
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. 1 l7 y+ M7 d+ b% S$ L- s: N" [6 L4 l( e# I7 z9 `1 D1 T! `6 B
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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. $ }4 t' P" w' w/ V, G# p# r8 T& [& w6 ]: U" Q
" S4 \+ \, S4 {4 R2 _ $ f: B. u) O4 l% OMilton 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. 2 [" O0 m0 \( ^4 D1 _& K; j; ` 0 {- _9 U }" d x" @* n6 z" y' r$ g ' z n: X% t9 E 6 p0 g' {5 x _1 f6 j3 p* q* YWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.; c: p* I) Y3 K& x" w& Y
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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. / X; n. ~0 U# @2 P6 O; j0 i
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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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