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。9 C2 m& q0 a5 l! l: C
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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。 2 k0 |0 |5 W- f ` ' W8 j4 x- Z. P) l5 X$ ~& A( ]% U) m8 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。# r# X4 u; n* a% N4 E O2 x/ z9 i
4 e8 Q- w( R( t& f - t# `0 q' @5 j" S5 d r! `" |0 ~July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.- u% {5 r& Z" j# P( K9 d9 h
# z3 g, t1 V7 l" O. g3 w( l . s6 C0 o8 p# B5 Q, }- pFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.) U% h1 O7 M* J2 a2 g7 r! r! j
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+ M* P9 C7 ]2 \( G$ u- D5 I* ? " `0 a/ [4 ^ j2 oMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 2 J1 |7 ^" X1 {+ ~+ J
* [1 x7 q! N0 w1 o3 x 3 m3 O) z& ]9 E% T4 { The Expat Exodus ! E9 l. \9 r1 K- J) K% iOn 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 X* b. U( R: o; Q" j
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$ E$ G7 @/ [8 m: w+ W6 C ) M, E+ r% ?5 k+ j4 w+ NEmigration * G/ ^4 Q+ ~# _0 q8 OJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. * e. z6 L! l1 ?0 i7 {6 W6 v
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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。2 ]( K; V5 f0 q
e& J O0 _5 I8 e+ ^. y- E 《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。 2 q0 z, u8 P/ v! f. b A" o, V) Y * r; Q$ Y9 ~; r% |作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
! R" Y/ B% S7 C0 X" Z* t The People's Liberation Army & }; N, f) N% Z& I; gA 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. : r* W( W7 o# e6 a4 `0 j/ v, d / X% s/ r ]) Q3 W" v8 t# r l5 t3 W3 o: t$ I0 ~( s, y $ W& u8 t4 N% L/ F# X; rVictoria 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. 1 N! _/ }9 _/ S: F- o' J( w+ c; Y7 b9 ~; k , }2 q: a' U" w$ J! O+ K ( i! X, \! ^" }4 @0 Y9 N, T( k' V6 r5 V& m4 W2 V
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. ; x; x. s1 C% T1 X ~% h) P' x6 b8 C7 }2 P$ I! _
# i0 k- r* l/ H3 j# D2 F 5 ]. `' B6 P/ ~With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. ) Q3 I' M. K( T8 S5 p) s. d6 L) Z ) b* N+ x% j$ K v- C7 }
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. [& [- u( t8 G
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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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