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。 ' s- V- s# h* V# T; f% P 9 M. T1 W& e S7 A* @8 s5 y$ ? 5 e: Z2 K7 y, f " @2 a- \1 Z9 B9 K+ U& C5 B3 } ]# `1 R# X
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。 : J" `+ F, {$ j3 w j * L5 x" W; z2 D0 W7 t$ H7 ^ 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。 * I1 C3 U( T0 B Q2 K' }( j' t3 \ 6 w7 e- Q0 M: Q2 J3 T- B& P1 F8 l' z ! B) V, F5 b# `) mJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.8 q+ `1 ~8 A) A% s, f) K% Y
5 M! f" j7 p R! t* d ) W/ {) C7 U+ a |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., H7 F# T2 E; |5 O
! b5 t* ~0 J; { B, R% s- ?- d! N7 x A/ e6 _( b$ m- a 6 z. k+ j/ X. y: A$ d3 P& IMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. * E$ c- z' z! r) j/ W2 m4 a, {4 f0 o c; x+ Y$ Y1 K ( T v& A5 x' {; p% gThe Expat Exodus & P# I2 @0 p2 ]; E) u" F
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. * f2 s- L4 s3 b/ F" k, P $ d" [2 p3 A1 W$ Z: f2 z8 { $ a* }: s* d: g5 |( [/ E- I5 G " V8 j& `0 h# v- f7 v1 ^$ x7 UEmigration 9 O/ ~; G4 a# `2 P2 [2 h3 G- l; J( j
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 6 F D; u9 V0 V , D! s: a, D% x
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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。" _ f7 B; d c
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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 y4 P( ~! M# U3 G6 a7 F# v ; ?+ h3 K; V8 h作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
, m' F8 j$ Y7 `0 v! C2 Q6 E/ xThe People's Liberation Army # F$ ` O2 g7 a; j
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. - s$ T' f/ \ U0 X9 e. Q9 ~/ m# s
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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. 5 A6 ~3 ?, W5 s3 ^6 } - n6 M$ N. `( n" ]7 G; G" F5 _ " L. M+ j4 G' Y. o5 B. l . h& \. d9 O8 L, E% S- s+ T# G3 s9 eMilton 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. % W. q$ ]) Y) S- C- q+ t
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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.3 |" C! E" ^) {* n+ h" R/ w
; W+ H) m3 w, [4 E 2 ?9 E8 o; S( a- O7 l3 j qHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 6 j- |4 \" v8 `) g* D
4 n v- \; p2 Y0 v; X 9 @# e4 U# t. `: l' m 8 ]1 {. M, |. S6 `3 c, i! a4 ]% DContrary 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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