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。/ c0 W& X9 k$ D0 R; z( T
$ E! j( h, T* {) x$ X2 p( F; X ) x* R d8 o6 \$ _3 D3 l 1 [9 T/ f8 }$ | ! h& O( j8 e" Z* p5 l 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。1 I. v+ M: x" X# P ^ E9 c' _+ h& O
* x: M$ Z. i7 X# v% N* C t6 Q: G' B 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。2 C! l* y- ]) q+ G& u
6 U- V1 [/ p) _0 ?1 D& H5 n4 z 0 B: [3 Z6 ]7 c0 R$ @7 ^& y& }July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.+ D0 z! N( j6 h+ `9 h ~& _7 Z0 M
' l- O3 H* z( I8 @0 s 0 p' J2 D0 ^! t$ s. V; ]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. & [ ?1 k& K/ S" h z1 i/ x ; d- @! W% S$ f( |5 o$ J! j$ {; U: _5 X 3 H9 p/ ]& a% r3 b3 p3 p; q/ j March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 1 }7 q+ t, u) \9 r8 D9 g! _$ F 4 d* n) h* N/ w" c 1 R# z8 }& r* s( fThe Expat Exodus % i4 g( j7 q7 r. |8 hOn 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. . Y H( a: h1 H. T$ B. i0 v* i / v+ s d* L4 W; ?4 h$ {7 [( u
8 h+ W! X3 F- `, B1 U 2 X/ V' A: ~/ W8 l! p$ f! t. wEmigration & C I! w) Z M5 mJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 0 \; f! [% W- O+ V- L
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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。 * P a$ \3 |$ C- i( |+ ~( a 9 K% G* U" `- m( a
《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。, b& C. d) }9 j( H2 X! x8 L
0 g6 g: F' Q# K作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
" I y R) V7 ~( O. p+ ]8 j The People's Liberation Army % a* _ E- O; b$ D6 T( p( f( B9 ~
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. 0 d/ h1 I- k" y9 B( |. y0 d5 S* l& j- }# {
& z+ _) n5 }! L. j( ~% N ! m1 F& q3 ^& W6 ^+ L& uVictoria 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. 6 K& U, v8 [3 a% o; N9 ~# C
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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. 9 U8 X1 b. |6 \# F
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4 P; ?7 U" t7 {/ f # ~ @: C* I# |8 {) WWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.4 g/ e2 E# N/ c1 C
1 [' T2 y+ Y8 i; J3 z$ } . i$ D/ @* ] Q3 A. pHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 2 z' r. A$ o5 ?6 m
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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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