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。 / X8 L1 h, n/ S0 D8 T0 P T" |/ t- x) P7 C& W/ ?) k4 |2 U : H3 _; R- K: m" f- R8 L2 q ?3 z1 {$ _9 E0 ]5 ^
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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。 d3 m3 j" `' K3 \5 g1 e . Q2 r" l+ O# F: d: q: d 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。 : }9 k# N. [" h, Z% A h' @* I% ~& F/ `5 E& }. T% j+ T% u* L, v; u5 F; \! i# B3 X7 Q/ { July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. , }7 t V9 v. E/ I d, @8 W' a' M* Y ' I% W# @. S, v( ?# XFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 5 f0 Q' w8 l9 o+ t H/ a( g4 c4 y \8 u* n7 I4 O2 f0 S
3 V1 p1 z0 E0 J/ `1 U0 i 5 A3 j) L+ e2 \3 |' X- B8 Y1 R$ u March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ) K; R! L8 E$ u; k) D ! I8 N, X, B# f8 t( Y. G- j ) V3 @8 s, Z. [( v+ }; a8 TThe Expat Exodus & J: H4 o9 r! x" T8 j2 \7 H
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. 2 g/ j, o2 _! o9 ^# r9 b
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* r6 G3 j* m# d5 ]3 b( i) p# k Emigration 3 S$ s5 j, K( n" cJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. " j0 j7 Y6 c8 |4 u9 ~ { q' O ; [9 n7 Y! M1 B6 Z 3 v9 |4 i @6 W7 b7 |' M 《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。 $ G' O$ X1 l+ e- | 6 \& _$ o- ?' Q: o C c7 s
《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。 # Z3 D6 _1 b% [9 J% M/ w* u# _. ]7 Y ; U% Z" C3 C9 P+ L 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
$ u5 T; H5 E s2 z The People's Liberation Army $ m U0 j8 O! AA 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. ( H g3 t; C. A- V. [& Z4 @; P
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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. % [8 `2 f4 X* H 1 e6 J; |; r- k( J& Q! _( P/ R% y- ^! @* i7 U3 u , x9 k0 W* o( s/ iMilton 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: \* ?+ P0 k# N9 S) z% G( D D+ x5 S
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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.! S! e% y) y; W) F% b" J
3 ^6 L) X8 f) s3 y ( K: U* N7 N9 Z4 G# Z, `9 `7 ]Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. $ `% @ V# u7 S* o
; U' T* h# x# T# }+ f! F 3 r9 c5 \8 N: ] 4 D7 {. o7 p4 K& \3 ^0 x# e8 |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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