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。 " ^$ o" T; g' w* y8 o! T " J; X+ t' k9 S9 g7 Y* R. W1 E' v9 p( Y! T' ]
; G3 S/ G5 @5 H3 _" b * J2 l* T7 E' C2 Z- d+ A8 V5 F 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。+ [8 U3 A7 s; P3 v
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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。 9 U1 m1 s8 g; @. @9 G% ~ 3 ?& H8 M, k' _0 {% k0 m$ V8 s# Z, A8 A0 ~ July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 9 `% G% v2 |& ^# r2 U ' W1 B# P1 p z( A- J H/ @* R# q- @7 ?7 K! B" p' z 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. + t6 j% x G) ]# V# M+ o+ y/ } " o; Q/ [# M9 G/ ^" H4 ?5 s& s - Y0 D$ W1 U9 a. }% Z0 R. ?9 Y; {' u& t+ d March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 7 O) b9 L3 l& a8 N' {+ }4 J2 b
3 j w3 N' _$ F7 `+ X , c% J- o: t, i9 D3 s& I& o The Expat Exodus + \9 d5 j' `1 X% q+ ?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. 5 T4 M$ C) s" F, y' l
" ^' ?% u: n: Y% V+ ` ( R* m' [4 h+ P+ C$ d 8 q( N0 C$ P iEmigration ( [8 ?# H4 F) {- Y6 n0 mJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. . {% J1 y* k* [6 V + l5 h7 |# f8 h
1 e' U* Z9 G( u 《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。0 T9 O/ L. ^$ I" m
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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。5 V8 @6 S( P* Y* I5 i
" ]- N: E; }; e$ j作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
# ^+ s- A, C' Z% U6 SThe People's Liberation Army 4 `; N9 K8 f' x2 \& k& _" Q
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. - b [& Q, a n, i- U" Z/ u( C
0 q" c9 A0 q9 _" v/ c e1 ^2 V ! `# _& G, _! d% Q% hVictoria 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. " d; O$ b5 g6 M2 N $ ]8 o8 ^( ]7 P" f9 ~) |8 c! X. [( L3 Y& x4 D: ` B * Q: \* r: l& X5 B1 a; FMilton 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. ' ?) N% o W' {/ q/ A' c) V# G' e
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0 Q; a7 i! F) ` ' B9 z: ?3 N: e& XWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.3 c q1 G( \+ i9 L
1 o5 X6 [3 y f" f( O% b) P$ S. J, W J / @/ {/ A* P4 y# \2 K' \Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. * c$ J1 y \2 F& |& @
3 R3 P- ?/ f! o/ N8 ^ # I" q2 C9 a# _$ f0 Y . X8 |5 H; }$ Z* f; h! n: WContrary 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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