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。 , U* e* E& C9 [( V 7 K5 L% [6 o4 _. D2 |8 d , E4 O- n$ G! Y" a $ X1 i' Y$ o. h" Q+ Z! T8 n9 L2 s6 d6 |
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。# [. @/ z3 M/ R1 q
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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。2 ~& _: V' _8 a( {# L: c
; {5 z7 s: A; }2 Z6 W+ o: p4 Z' L: f R( S5 Z3 P1 e" b \ July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.2 n' g8 A7 a4 \( ]
1 o9 m. N# `. T* N; U1 _. {" X9 ^; x0 l/ k8 j, _; y$ e 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.- E, ?/ n2 v7 ^& f+ l% I
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, J& O+ t5 T/ A. ~: f" X ( n H; _* D; L3 t5 pMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 7 e" D6 r5 _. u9 C" {# d" k k0 R9 q( m
$ V+ J. P" A6 ~ 8 s! w |% U" v4 T- L The Expat Exodus - w5 C/ b9 J$ h3 i
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. $ N! R1 [4 Z. L4 `& f5 P2 G
$ Q( z; k( `: U+ K0 t1 B 0 H) U' I) g' X% W3 H9 J$ e ' O1 j; D, M7 FEmigration + i1 U* l7 z7 p0 a6 E
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ' T/ s) h3 g) ]
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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。/ C: a% l$ t, W1 z9 s
+ y. P* J/ S4 Q% o# ?) B* o 《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。 3 [2 j+ r, i3 C, V# K 0 L9 B+ ~/ M, }9 J7 a1 M作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
/ {) I" l2 G q5 C/ x! p The People's Liberation Army / f) @0 v+ x3 q' G4 V/ m% V
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. 1 g- N) y' l' h& E' o- o. ~* g& l8 H
# Q/ i, A$ `# ]9 ~, e/ [ ! G3 p9 Y9 K1 m, v4 ~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. 4 j" p5 b! m$ c
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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. * R. d: [1 J* ` * n1 \3 ?8 p8 O* v9 g) Z' J+ c7 S5 x; a 6 q- {2 |+ c1 ], h7 y9 t" n/ LWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. : T2 u" d, g- h$ Q9 g; j3 G $ G0 t: h: A; `! w & w8 I) }+ \4 eHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. + E: a. _: c8 j, O6 l
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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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