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。5 B+ A) A2 k6 `: A9 G
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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。" K, r: L2 i3 \. E6 u) e
3 E5 r. h; I2 I7 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。 ; G3 K) v- P. g# V ) q1 y; k+ i2 ]. N 6 P' B* F, B3 P0 l P) I1 k+ TJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong./ e2 V6 D3 P5 v1 x/ [& {* |2 a
1 w ?7 m( U& k( }" O2 f, _! C* A1 i) t0 [& J5 y 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. & p6 s1 v# c# S& U. z- k% _* I ! }$ i8 l6 I/ T8 a! z: t2 G0 Q, s, \ C3 \5 N 0 Z; J4 H& ] H7 I2 B/ F' ^! U; nMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. # K# G0 m, k% d. Y2 T# E$ [- k 6 Z2 t2 x! [' o0 M% V" l \" } ! u' Y t, L6 H! JThe Expat Exodus + S3 v3 ?7 n, I0 \( k; Y0 a: A
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. 0 Q" ^* g/ f# V% k% ] ! T1 Q5 b. \: Y. E* O6 a3 o ' n2 H8 A$ X3 ]2 |# {6 Q1 J' }/ P ! n* \$ ?' m4 l: J2 ^Emigration 3 t3 I% n9 q5 X2 H2 \ e2 O
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 6 [/ y9 }: N- X3 {+ p
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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。1 Y: Q& [- c# Z- j
7 x$ r/ W8 i7 K 《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。) ~( `& b5 o! G( h3 w
2 `- n( W% P& I, z% |& y; a2 J 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
) ^9 v* H" I9 P$ [1 |The People's Liberation Army . b6 o Z: g4 VA 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. 9 |" O- Q* W' Z. w2 M9 d
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/ V; D( @8 n P2 K L: p9 ` # _$ U# p+ {' ?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. 9 \, |' E8 J8 U1 U: J% T' s
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2 O! z0 h, M; }% s |: T & t) }4 D( e: ^4 ?0 y$ e! DMilton 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. ( c! b( `0 w) C
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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.) F4 P) i! U+ p! w
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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. ' g1 _* n1 m/ B( a7 _2 E 4 Y, p9 B" H( F N 3 s& x5 g8 M. G/ {- ~2 z ( x' j; T4 N( s, V1 V" i- TContrary 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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