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。 / r% i6 g' j* `/ \) T! s) G3 e : ^& H( n8 E; D" ~; x ( S* V3 f* t# V7 a( P W 9 _% H. v* w0 W$ U) A P: q8 V1 W2 Z* ?( K3 J& ~& x# m
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。- r: J& Y w* P1 k* @
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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。 ! S8 b! i0 I3 B% P) E- B 8 d6 W0 F4 G' B; E" i& r1 m( f, O7 c8 x( X, J0 B9 W July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.7 m {" z3 @# V% z8 [
3 U2 l0 n6 x2 t0 P+ ~ 8 k% c4 V4 n! n, I1 E' G# ^1 ?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 N8 l) _7 C0 D+ l, k
' ?! z6 {8 T/ ?) ]3 R# q5 [; b* U4 D ; }3 a6 |2 r DMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ' h4 T; p4 j% d5 i
7 F% X: `3 T% _! H 6 `7 s$ L. E) u' ZThe Expat Exodus - F3 E" ?" C- L9 X; g% I! O
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. 3 I$ |6 K8 g2 l+ t1 N
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6 s0 p; _3 H& N! t3 n$ j5 r " ~, j1 [$ Y) A, r4 l$ y$ A2 REmigration 8 P3 E( q0 a; \5 S. FJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ( p9 m$ z5 u: m4 f* R 0 ~' J# c0 s9 t! V9 f i, k3 e $ M$ e8 H4 z! e7 b" D8 y- t& a4 ^ 《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。 - t2 ]# {! U' J1 s" \; y . H. y0 z* s" R+ d% g: r& N" ], I
《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。 ! j+ ^6 {# M# ]8 F' I& E 0 S( D! g& i2 G1 E& O* S8 P 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
! T, e3 C5 F: K7 D: ? a. i x The People's Liberation Army 5 s" N1 {5 J' f, Y* x+ u; n
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. 2 R6 o4 s% g6 z! K" M( A7 V- z+ [1 S3 [
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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. 7 a1 F* L% c6 e9 b- ~
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x" m1 K K- \8 r* D* T 6 z& V+ t g! F; q* z& q' w3 T+ kMilton 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. + _5 l9 S# @2 v& V) D( m $ L( g. d0 y1 e( y$ J' U- X. h# ? ' U! N6 f+ t8 o/ R/ M6 m0 {+ \ |- O) L& b& G0 {& X
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.1 b6 P l6 W6 [$ R0 L
* H8 F: e1 A- C; K/ d8 ~4 q 4 L- W. M7 Y7 j `1 U; _* [Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 2 S% Z- G+ N: \ V
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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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