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。1 e+ }& K/ Y% ~% k. c# _, Z
, R! U* c: y" q7 H , G' ?1 B4 E2 b/ `7 P4 G , N8 M7 S1 z5 j 8 e5 u+ c# `2 \; B 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。' y- J9 H; O1 f, M& E4 d
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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。" s5 E6 d3 M3 j: o x d% y4 C
+ W+ d' j6 m. h5 l+ L6 }+ N6 f6 J% e# p: G July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. & i8 L8 ?; n% n& A" n; ~ 7 d2 q8 T$ Y% U0 _ 1 Y' ]' ~1 \; O7 x5 sFeb. 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! E T! U( V# m, w$ H$ _) O: v% n( O' M5 j7 {$ Q
A; T5 Q! m( U2 X2 q; R- ~; Y! s$ ?/ ?( }* H% o5 a March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 6 `3 G0 f7 P% j; Q7 p4 F# _
4 Q: M9 P* N( x0 A7 U 0 o( }" b" D+ y jThe Expat Exodus . v9 P9 ?8 H S( T* I" O; R* N6 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. ^9 O% g. F$ o
, U- ?# @7 X+ b. R ' J4 N: ?; |6 V* n' x $ o+ k% n& H, Z9 iEmigration $ G4 [( {" [5 L6 X) @0 S( I& VJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ! W* `8 Y' t- f; L# [1 A8 t! Y. l
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2 ~* E5 p; i* ^5 m! ~4 N 《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。- {+ Y( G+ O' ~# w8 z
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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。! ^% P' T5 A' ^$ ^! B G
* ~2 H: |( G% @8 m6 M5 ~4 q 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
( t$ t( _' c1 `6 i6 [% ~6 z The People's Liberation Army 7 w6 o4 K0 H5 [ V% w0 d7 `
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- W: Y6 `3 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. 6 @6 ^8 ` q# h z
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9 R5 Q) d' \2 M( P, G! Y4 o* q ) F( \! h+ h7 e. j5 n, r2 o% [, yMilton 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. 3 q# l/ v* F( G' q6 K0 L' k& y, @# z6 d* k W1 G
9 J3 A3 F7 B8 c) c; p, y 9 Y* b1 S! j& |6 s+ D' x* jWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover., ^. H0 X( S( `$ I* ]
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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. $ N- c( e. K0 ^0 k0 ^& ?$ [: ]" P" B p% f' W a- h
) j4 F; q( t( Q 4 m, q8 w$ a6 p2 y# i3 C+ d/ 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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