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。1 ]- e* U9 d: ]% g1 v1 v7 e) R* t x
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$ t7 U& S& ^( @5 B/ t9 R 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 P. m$ }4 X! [ F0 E: v3 \ - Y; I$ U; Q# j+ I+ j( _# I0 e 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。 ; k( I U3 @2 w* s 3 B) w6 U6 h0 B9 y3 @+ I! w. O+ i- o & z3 E6 m( g0 e: ~& @July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 1 P3 ?# T9 x) r1 b2 A' t/ c - z" d ^* G" k" W) v. y0 p$ P$ Y8 s3 i+ D: \& Z5 k7 [ 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., @; m/ j0 t1 I% ~' J6 O
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, `( u3 X# P$ ?1 ? {0 n. ? ( N( p- }; L" o: _& z0 L+ `# A# VMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. - v, M5 r4 M% z$ v
4 r7 w5 r% D, T$ l' E. @/ t& u o/ h" E4 T& e The Expat Exodus ( p2 s6 o8 V( W/ X) P/ 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. / R- H0 x6 ~% f- P - e& J9 d& q- H: \& s 3 Q1 ^6 h0 C4 b3 P+ n5 G5 x( y4 Y1 q* r- g3 N; c2 w Emigration # s0 [& s, L% `( s
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. / |' c" e& m1 m/ n! ? ) `! I9 S+ R7 l
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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。 ) c3 K8 _, T M& d- K) e2 w0 D0 ~ : X: q) y) U8 m& \4 u
《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。& X+ T- V. @' I7 D/ V' D
( V. Q9 A9 Q z- u* X4 V作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
\9 V9 `, C! KThe People's Liberation Army 5 ^* {1 {2 {2 a1 OA 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. ' n. l1 Q* K- p( T& R! N3 K& C $ l# O; e: G% R) t+ _2 l/ o. Y) e4 E & X2 @2 _# j7 m! P) Q0 SVictoria 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 q; C5 E' ^8 \7 D2 }- P8 U& \4 k, ~7 M
5 E, T2 ^" u" q- X * p$ Y& O6 A# s c; LMilton 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. 2 }5 R0 v. A3 R( M
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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. / N& p2 P+ n' O: A; U2 z+ ~ : }, S3 z) j0 [; j 1 m& u' {( P- }% x/ r; t* NHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. / q. ]$ g R0 u, G- l; X( e) W9 j2 f
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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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