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。 b3 h; o. D- _. M
! y& M/ y. A/ i2 d3 N3 [ ! k. e9 R2 X8 F4 I4 h9 U# \9 M f @7 m8 s/ p) X. D ! y- W# P+ Y. h3 Z 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。( @4 J4 w" e, X, s2 g# `4 `( `
7 K" H$ g" N9 i: 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。2 x' c4 e( x) K* I5 ^0 E( C
; n) K. Y9 A( I% h 4 {( M( ^3 V4 e! K* iJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. ; t# M- R$ W H8 _1 _. a# x- s0 ]# B5 v; I8 ]( m6 \, R o- B* `% x5 K0 w: z0 ^- o7 GFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 6 X5 h, w: s3 t- l* g0 w8 z5 K% a8 o6 P6 A
3 ~; [( _. n7 w3 d3 p ; y* @4 v- K8 n8 y8 ^! _March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 5 N8 z% M* E9 z2 D3 d8 d % Y% i4 k( C" f- y6 ]+ a2 L% i* z$ w) x# K+ N' s The Expat Exodus , | m5 Q! q+ H+ E* H7 P! H1 oOn 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. ) a0 b# P8 `' i5 N4 b) A' c. T
) x6 G$ q. e) P- l& Q 9 U0 ~% @9 u; M- V- R* H $ N2 j5 j' q' i* NEmigration % t2 a! a+ F5 }! m+ a6 T& u
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ! Z. n, C* O# c! D( M * h9 S1 }+ u( O& a. J 5 T$ Q+ s3 G. ?) Q 《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 r" |" a; ~& k& }' p7 G) e % d3 v- Z" o+ Y; s% t. G/ Z
《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 L$ t( x! Q, _1 d- j - n' @' h5 G; I3 t) p: x) ]作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
5 V* J- W& h" P5 ~7 j4 I& o2 {The People's Liberation Army , w# P$ ]: t! O7 S& Y+ H$ jA 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. - @* s! M) ?5 u, z! [
8 @" k5 y9 P9 l0 j4 v6 J9 m
; v9 o" z' @6 F; A7 `+ P 9 ?* y9 p% d2 e) BVictoria 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. % j" m7 c+ o% g9 r5 Y: B& C* D9 o: R* B1 n4 K( q$ D
* T, L( p8 Y/ v) H# s) I; G# p 4 Y! G" S, z8 m& K5 e1 S
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. 1 h) J' G& ?! \
; x. S) ~, ?5 ^5 y" O 2 v$ n2 j7 o. M% \ 1 z2 E1 D, A5 n/ V8 s9 F8 x3 YWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. . F5 l9 t( W- G/ p$ x% c 8 T. S/ k* _ f' n9 n/ r' t3 ]6 o' ]4 D0 u6 y. A5 a
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ; n5 A a' ~, k" ^3 m, M8 ?" ]2 L" c& n5 D ( u- P+ `! h( d" q / r# Q2 Q v% l) _' T ( i7 r1 z# _" m! c5 UContrary to dire predictions, Hong Kong hasn't yet lost its economic edge to cheaper cities on the mainland or to cleaner, more orderly Singapore.