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。 - ?6 P3 s% v+ i4 ?, ~ 0 i8 C" ]. o0 t 2 s5 h2 `. o4 R$ I ' B0 X* q+ ^" v" m% u4 u - r6 o, l. i. n 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。' y2 ]8 Y$ j e& u0 Q
$ @$ Y6 v$ N$ t% B' c- y# s 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。% v0 t; m( m4 T0 j/ F: q9 O
1 v) }9 {" m% d6 Z " u" e1 C& t9 K% b July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. W# r* \0 V; i" v, H" }# k
( q! ?5 `9 W+ Z' C+ R h + t+ [3 Y7 |1 I3 [4 Y- oFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. % L4 U4 v/ o) k9 U1 l & ?6 @* X8 i3 U* \ # G l& ?0 n& Z- \- c, M( \' e( _ E' x* z: z% T# Q$ R March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ; \& {4 p. e+ ~! k9 P: K* v# Q , R8 q6 {7 S) u$ A3 S6 Q: \9 B: z0 c The Expat Exodus & c# g* Z$ ^7 ]
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. ) P% ^) U' V4 ?) c% D& s* z * }( s* T- d+ a/ L& q! U
1 C0 i7 M0 V8 ^) a) q$ I* Q3 ` 9 f8 Y7 m3 _3 c1 xEmigration % T% ?, r" p$ y' lJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 7 x# h6 G" C- W6 E' Z$ ~
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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。 1 N# s }) \# T% N % N4 e, c+ {6 F7 n
《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。* F0 T3 p; f9 @- Y" [. Q
% }3 S, t9 m; O作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
, J1 g; u7 e- O$ b) K: KThe People's Liberation Army ' A& t% ?+ ^/ d; W, ?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 M- E5 _/ t0 D# R6 V/ T% W9 }5 ?5 Q( E9 t0 s5 h7 O
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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. 2 v* Y. \/ N5 ?! B, }
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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. ) ^# C! z7 }9 g b5 L" J( K* ~, g; p4 l: `% [
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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.* q. k7 N. Y; w, }. c) a, u
, [* _# r. t5 C* k% G " f' N+ v7 ?/ }4 C! H, p# ^" UHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. : V+ j1 Y% e0 k" U8 a1 k( h& W" T
1 A# m% V" R) ?2 {$ R- J. H ) g [: B9 g* u. J# Y' F6 k" s U4 P, j$ k. E& A9 H$ [+ GContrary 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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