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。 7 m% X* V$ T( n5 R. |5 Y4 u' E: ^: g ; W& F$ B9 v8 x: E, X: b2 j$ [ : q& {; ^- b+ C* `) b% B8 r% ~! f$ I, P/ d
8 ^9 n& W/ x' G 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。* R K f- w9 Z [
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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。! g( L J7 i2 H% ~9 i. C0 a* W
" l/ C0 ^+ A& ?+ t4 t5 F7 e# S 4 X- N9 }. b& o6 L3 h July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. : i' Y, E2 p% P8 @+ @* F+ {5 A( j6 M ' \" I) ]$ P$ ?# f 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. ?' U! y# M+ M5 B- q; n+ r5 x
! t; U1 N- U! ~# |0 i , q+ S! s* m+ ^# E& u. ] March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 9 _6 K& r6 W5 e9 c2 } j8 I
8 \% A7 y: n( \0 h2 j. `6 C# h5 r4 U2 T4 D; D9 ` The Expat Exodus % Z2 @. S+ G8 A+ U2 bOn 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. : m0 k+ M \3 ]
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) w! k' O% i1 N/ |6 E0 M! i, c- r5 | $ @! y# B8 B9 g& Y2 C! AEmigration ; ?2 D* ^( g+ w: v) ?! x4 l" _
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 3 \9 f/ a+ @( _4 v9 p3 t/ h; J' Y ) t$ O/ P: d, I : m8 h$ g. z; ]$ ~" K) 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。7 G% `* Q/ b# Y0 a) f
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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。 e/ `+ q0 G4 F8 N # q1 Y( T2 i- |5 ~ 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
6 S0 \2 b& _' |& w: e1 f& V( FThe People's Liberation Army ! b- E( s& [4 S$ c+ t& K8 `
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. ) Z8 c; L9 z' F - J! w+ }4 |' d; r4 }5 ` 9 y$ L" p8 p- G ' _/ e' M/ N* F d8 r/ w) [* tVictoria 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. " E& M# p+ H2 p8 q8 Q t. {. I
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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. " O. l$ r7 B9 W6 @2 R, ^7 r8 E4 V. e
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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. 8 Z- h4 ~( ?8 B. `: f! k / E! W3 X. a4 A( j : H$ C( o' V: YHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. + z+ F* g/ {: w N0 C( r" I4 P6 z' D" v; m; l1 @5 p# d% K" [
9 f* ]" u4 G* y# e- C+ L 9 V5 ]( w& b, e) \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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