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。' L" i* G& _4 G M" D% z
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2 I7 X/ J2 [$ ~9 k: 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* g7 @4 C' W& a 8 M" D1 `1 x3 V9 u% \4 W
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。" U" }+ }. S0 L% z+ V& l5 Q) H; I
- q" Z6 p( V0 a# G9 } 7 g F; ^ y0 A) FJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 5 C& u. e# \6 _8 A/ i3 j / C. G" m/ N E; R; [# m0 ?4 C+ X$ A' e( i1 ]( } 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. $ @5 ]& q* k& ]8 ], m ( v% I9 H8 Q% t0 V; [5 J ( J# C' i7 p: L8 L/ k; G# b8 ~0 A5 @2 O- G1 A4 L. v March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 6 ?- x: v5 {0 g& {" w, X
$ L8 P6 H0 p" F' f, b # Y# O! N" V8 N+ }5 }The Expat Exodus + k0 ]: Q, O. P/ k" Q6 gOn 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. 8 m0 i7 e4 a; ]
( y4 [& q& o7 O# S, E/ Z6 h% r2 j1 ] 1 ]8 U4 [+ [$ }8 I) c/ Z1 ] ) q( V o. O8 I4 VEmigration 1 a1 G7 v9 Z1 P+ U, y) tJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. % R. N' }/ J C5 n6 Z" ^1 V; h5 { - S4 Z' r3 b9 }) h. U3 A2 s5 E 8 u" c. l6 l& ?: c8 k p& G! D& F) v
《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。 $ }9 d$ D! h- L4 s # |4 ^* ]: q' n$ w! E( |' l- 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。" D. H+ _3 M$ \$ @5 M
( G8 H: g6 h, V作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
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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. ; X/ g1 B1 y* d$ A* @+ d
# m' r, |, ~8 y; y/ e2 ~: ?$ l1 d3 T0 z+ r ) n( l+ X8 t2 ~: K) A3 @. P& E5 LVictoria 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. " L$ m: ] r2 L4 S$ k( s9 y' J+ A3 _! E! J; e
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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. a! i F y3 L3 R) Z/ i6 d! d8 c0 _4 j K* D& A5 u9 Z* Z% n1 q$ Q1 \
+ @, [7 C8 g4 q$ _0 H( ` 3 |0 | f0 L7 i* ZWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 6 s1 R: K9 ]8 L) ? # Z7 a' u3 h4 ~ e5 F 2 H4 B* b- e0 h/ z7 k- |Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 0 a% J% z. O& @* \* ?+ x
- L- J' \9 B0 O ! N% u+ V$ T5 s; O & p% L; h0 ]; _$ Q4 fContrary 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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