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 ]9 U0 V" S* M* Q" p* h3 e6 T 2 W6 x# ~; y0 } , n& ]7 }7 r. m( x! f3 [7 r( ~
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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。 + P# p9 w% X/ x# A 7 e2 r6 e5 ]4 v" y. Z8 N- R! l1 Q 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。 , v3 h4 n0 u A5 E2 Q ) `+ V3 ~/ `) c Y : H# A" t1 }# A6 N July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. # G. L8 R. T; `: P! s5 I* \ ! \2 W6 l" ~" _9 ~9 U' ?* ^! U$ T1 i3 K4 v2 ]6 D 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. $ |2 T6 B* Q5 f$ S' `" k$ W1 X 6 |4 ~2 b" h% [5 R! S 8 [' L% b0 G( R " e; _# z$ T. W* j9 O3 LMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 6 w: T4 ?; y/ b3 X
& {9 z+ O% Q. ~5 a! H# F+ X % b5 u# R2 {* Z: O; ~The Expat Exodus 8 G' i0 T& U3 H# g GOn 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. + P2 ?% R0 T; ] 1 C/ Q/ Q6 w) ^( ]9 l9 a1 `) `
, e( E" h( Q' V( V9 Q' Z; }9 z9 z- G" \+ y. P+ K Emigration 6 D* R" T5 n4 ?/ Q/ o
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ! P& f* l x% x ' j4 G4 C9 U$ `8 l; F ` # U8 j$ C( t" |& N( d
《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。8 M2 x$ o( d* c% N9 t
! X' f$ R6 o# P* P7 Z6 b. i 《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。 : w+ S* g Z$ b " W! @; G- a! y, F$ y: V 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
' Y1 q0 e$ g; b% m7 m The People's Liberation Army 1 Q% K* d: _8 @2 Q9 J; `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. $ n. S* a# k" f; ^4 ]* P4 ]. S% O$ F! I3 e. r8 s7 d! X: }
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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. 1 D y5 ]3 J" ~3 w3 E1 b- ]4 P" W( y" o
: U1 e0 h4 D# b% E/ y$ d+ h8 | - A" i: Q* h/ ~1 m9 ^6 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. - Y, `* v! V5 V. D5 I/ r3 }- Q
' r: Q& E. y2 @ ' p+ w$ F+ W0 T: O+ q+ Q( i2 p" U 7 M d/ l: O/ B' H9 Z2 j& ~With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.( O6 c! V8 y; K( s
0 e9 U4 K( U2 Y9 } : W7 k* L; a* M6 v" _4 Q- [Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ) q7 p A7 U; l; O8 D' B/ c# E* K 9 K1 M% @7 U, c" Y) W y 8 b8 B: Q: ?5 C3 p4 t) k' Y 8 b' A; }* q9 ]$ \9 mContrary 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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