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。0 w6 {$ N" X' J! B! t
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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。5 G4 U' N& B0 k( W4 a* p O
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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。# A0 P1 e8 w$ L) X* q6 Y6 O
C3 L- L3 [7 Y$ X# Y6 E9 g+ R: H9 m0 i+ T+ o O* r8 h3 z July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.2 s& f$ ~ ~8 q. X* k# P
( O& H5 r9 C4 T1 P( F 2 [' A' O9 M+ }; ~, YFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. , _* a& ^) C! k* Z3 a+ g9 R# Z9 Q9 `) `9 j% S( |+ A+ b3 _
% p7 K( P. H$ f' ~. l/ P 5 z; ]" Y5 G8 W$ X$ ` March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 2 M" @' }# k+ j, w. W
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On 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. , M+ S) P6 J* T' B* t: a/ I; I, h5 P
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; M0 T& c. ^# m5 L/ m$ U) p ' M @4 Q. [4 y* B7 z Emigration ! N) b4 f4 O9 j5 L
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ! K6 N! ~, J/ M8 u7 s S) V3 \/ a( O v
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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。 % ^6 ~) Y( [2 G" {1 X5 S, Z - E" F. a6 M+ N# Z 《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。 $ r, d. ^# u& ?) T- T % [1 o5 d0 a" t7 s; E; k K 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
' I$ e: m& N. h8 Y! |- OThe People's Liberation Army 5 s& U2 Q2 S) sA 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 f# u7 ~2 ~; Z( B3 N! N! T7 R3 ]: \" q! _
7 \! q1 z& ]/ _. }7 t 6 p( t+ M# }( `6 M2 DVictoria 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. E" r7 ^% U# X1 X% |' W( _
* t. ^0 n2 P6 z " ^2 W J4 x4 c" |( [ ' i5 E) f7 [* v9 r! E PMilton 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. 8 t/ ]. i% G# E. E. n
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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.- |' R5 A. M- d' m2 }8 o
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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. j$ J/ H' v! R7 ^6 _3 N! O: |) D! O- @4 \
7 Z& ]) P% L. n1 T! S q$ V Y! `4 D9 s' W9 t" ^7 E6 c0 k @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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