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。 ) a$ o7 }4 Z+ P. G+ C # t8 H8 V) W6 F, m ' G# _& y, J# Z; [) y9 w2 D/ b1 I9 V0 E( h% @1 X
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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。$ P5 ^% A# T8 M ]
$ P9 D5 N+ _0 Q 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。5 O% T0 Q# m1 f# z' h6 W1 x
% @: E" ~' l, d 1 m+ E) _0 B$ V7 DJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.0 A9 D; B% d4 Z' x3 y. ~
% ?- ^* I& o9 \8 Y, ^7 ]5 u' p( \8 i' R. O( K; Y& J8 ~ 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. , g8 k6 }8 K- Z: u4 s, x- j$ Y% |' p$ c% e* g4 ^' O0 _$ l$ G6 j
) p" g q# {" G" w! w+ P + I. t7 Q) n: O. w' _ zMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. & n; f, U% H) |, Y2 ^5 E$ n
' P! n& C" F( V : y! j% L; ^ q- s! ]The Expat Exodus " l9 G \7 i# |& J& ^: bOn 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. $ U( s* o W$ x1 P! u- t( @$ V
% e" ^8 f* I7 x- n9 ^# B' M " ?, r4 t; g0 P; ]# U. c, X6 e* A3 v6 ?. }5 n- Z Emigration 1 S9 A$ q+ Y* x* F, VJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ; E: l4 y9 `1 W8 y- j3 z& S % z6 a. s: ^8 i/ Q
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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。; d5 f( I/ |5 n4 o; [. e2 s
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《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 V7 g( Z* o8 ] : ^, X& h3 r5 x; ~作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
+ L6 d3 u$ w' ]" p0 R2 o The People's Liberation Army 6 S' D6 t1 b% e8 i3 D" B) I4 c K
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. * ]- R8 k R8 v8 Y2 V- K8 E% X
- i4 B& L+ d' B4 z* q4 T6 O1 D. D) D, `& E) K3 Y p + D9 l2 \% K4 ?' D2 q3 fVictoria 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. 8 ~6 M& T" J% ~8 f
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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. ) \: _7 X% `# ]% V3 B3 c' q) [ p, o6 L' |: Z( Y8 r+ m! e( V7 @; W . r g' y' @* t3 ^5 I Y7 ~
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.+ v/ v9 ^( p0 r: y9 v1 [8 S
) P w5 r8 X& Y# B 1 @, b4 W" e, h1 V' ~Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 1 z$ ~9 {3 O- o" |; y
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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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