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。 4 Q/ T# p. \4 g1 w" w 8 j4 Q9 m% ?' m7 X6 E4 | % ~+ P8 }. A: q2 x) i
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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。 + c X# S; J3 a$ c- _- | : _# g, X+ g; j* J/ y e* s
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。 - D A. g4 \8 ?$ G: C. u1 L# a) h " k0 F$ z" F; J/ p+ _6 y) x 4 N1 K2 Y( L4 f" f* C7 oJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.% i! _8 n* V' X, N+ R- {
, B" b5 v+ \& f, d6 y( z & P) f( y N5 d7 z: gFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.( k" A# V R) z3 b$ u1 p
5 H* _7 m& e8 p- M$ Z4 j # j2 K4 M# F! w. Z) i$ F1 c! r% p; F ; a0 v: s8 m: {2 v/ T7 h; [/ TMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 7 n4 g/ w, I- Y6 `9 S
1 Y6 l8 j: W6 e _% F; i . c( h d3 ]2 ^& A, M The Expat Exodus " b8 L# U8 q% e9 M; I
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 S7 M2 E8 J9 f9 ?# W+ u
' d$ T1 O7 n+ y8 Y4 S2 y G - Z/ M/ J+ ]! v0 ?2 t v7 J . v3 }+ r9 n% L6 @Emigration * L. m" D7 m0 B/ G* X4 T* qJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 1 s, C. p' T# ^
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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。5 V* I4 G9 B. U, K" r# |0 @
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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。 2 m" _* G4 ]3 g: o: T & S+ ~- ^5 P/ ~: W+ T d 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
0 L( X! h4 v8 W; Q The People's Liberation Army 4 Q+ X" F5 T8 J& y) `. nA 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. # }' { s" S# X* z; K5 E$ m
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4 s2 S2 c# `* |0 t) l * |. Z# Z% V% V. [+ U# OVictoria 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. ) k6 D. V; p2 i$ t$ S' Q
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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. 6 t# X" ^: M- F 6 r% h/ ^2 c0 b! L9 @% u* D% C5 h8 L: \1 h" A2 G# q9 y $ X' m5 d$ ?, u7 AWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 8 g5 J. {/ [' i% U % p& f! r) Q% h0 P 0 P6 E, D! r/ R4 [5 L* iHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 3 y7 V% U2 Q: D1 o8 r & {& j, O, b' z9 y! H( o4 a $ a5 z8 N. z S2 {, @6 D% }4 Z: h/ X3 ?/ W9 r4 T+ F5 `
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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