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" A" A1 [. H" b ~9 l
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* [; V1 C4 M. X) x# { " Y; |9 i! F- N 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 Z" y8 ]: C0 e3 s* A. g2 N % \- O: Y9 d! _2 W9 H% g
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。 % h# f R: a. A6 p ) t( `7 M$ ^; R$ }+ Y" i 4 F+ e, v4 N& ?$ JJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.! B2 R: u C' l$ a6 F
( I: Y! j& P2 Y' K ' u' S8 R2 G1 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.. Y$ ^" a* J0 e- P e
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- ?. z/ }6 N; i7 B % Q; a; _, ]. @ March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 3 p" g8 D! H# N# m+ Q
% N. a0 U8 P7 a6 X 6 l# t) E, Z/ f7 w8 n; [7 WThe Expat Exodus 6 P7 B1 w' q3 ~0 T$ Z$ R; u$ 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. ' X) D7 C) U J) [( Q; Z
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3 V$ [& a; l1 O8 L2 B" C2 i 7 ~4 I3 c9 c* }9 f; y, L& o Emigration 3 e7 T; n, i% `4 p! p1 R/ \* PJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. * ^. ^% p; I* v( [5 e" r
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' _6 f$ q3 k3 Y4 c7 G ~# M 《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。 + c1 U3 I) W3 ]# J4 `0 ~# G2 K 3 x* v2 f' r- n f) A( h0 f, Z% w
《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。 # u% G9 ?$ v; x9 J" ~; [: K7 X 8 A- Q8 e, x9 y. q5 A: |6 y1 o作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
M& [- U% J' } The People's Liberation Army 1 g7 @% }4 _6 pA 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. ) E. H0 F: b3 |; X4 [6 H" `3 I# J: j; ~5 K0 A' h2 U! W8 o9 O
% o2 }$ m: E" {; s- E 9 R8 r* t) n0 `6 m2 D3 AVictoria 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. * }2 A2 z1 z6 m/ ?! x; J" P5 } 7 L+ J9 V1 j6 p " o- j9 X- H/ c! i$ }7 H/ j5 H1 d( u' {' }. x1 v* ~
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. - n9 `3 p1 v$ e) ?' t- \! {
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With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.1 C) D+ a4 [& S6 h6 y+ B0 }& H
3 @; F" d) h* q( J* C " L: t6 F0 Y: m* Q2 V% E4 ?Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. % U) e, o! `/ U1 Y, h5 `# j4 @ & ]6 N& S! k1 Y$ y! c. S2 z- H. B/ G. u# q, q0 b6 _! y6 M! u8 x 9 ?: t+ @6 n4 R6 w# a5 c3 aContrary 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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