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。 8 u1 h5 y! u( O+ t- I 6 ~1 x4 n$ E8 D1 |2 l! V0 L3 z7 s0 Q# H4 i7 f$ _: P
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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。 # X: `8 B. l% x3 x4 D 3 y: v4 d" W7 x 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。% z0 ^7 F; O# `5 i
$ S6 H5 \+ N7 R U. ] 5 c) S% Q& i% }; LJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 2 [/ o% s: C, b0 e+ a( C3 S . M# S2 Y0 C' d0 O6 i0 i5 B: m2 W7 _& o) G5 Z 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.& D4 T9 o3 l9 O6 l" `* H1 h
: w* O z/ u4 L/ a6 C ~ 8 y" v$ [' F& z 5 B! d9 ?+ p/ H( Z vMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 3 L( i. D }* H( ^" t1 x/ M* f) M* ? ' f( [( f, s' y1 L6 h6 _ X 2 M; K# E' {( {. p& l- hThe Expat Exodus ( v2 B; W$ M- Y; l
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. ; u' y x8 A) z6 P7 Z3 ] % _1 n3 C7 g9 o: n
7 j! t! z/ I, O2 B7 ? 2 E" k! h' S9 g. z" d2 B2 q7 P" iEmigration 6 d' m& l2 {$ `0 l" Z( z0 O5 A
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 6 @) j5 y% C5 P h4 j
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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 `- |0 s, I- J J
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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。 6 _% ~0 l! s9 Z : ^6 C# F( S$ K! H9 \6 t3 t作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
3 U. j# @2 \1 l ], V/ K ~ b( y The People's Liberation Army / ~) u5 \% t. ^# D: d; W1 |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. . G: O) k! t, X 3 u1 m$ L/ h. [7 S) C. C1 o4 c9 v, G* D9 R. M; f 9 _6 U, C: K9 c) K8 e( F& q
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. & u; G/ w8 N8 G ?/ a* W& c y3 | V# \9 l' D
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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. . H4 A5 D ^! b9 y$ r' N" E& {% z" \. W% }) }6 u
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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.. j' P' v4 y$ Z* P3 P- s
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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. : q7 S1 i8 R- R ; J. b; {' j, n/ f, g0 Y! p% k% A% S% w& H4 Y. w6 k8 D ' H* j6 V# z8 p1 Y/ P' _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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