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。 & ?' V5 Z% P8 b/ V9 d 8 a; n) c7 i; S , C4 l9 O7 V* a: R j - J/ _# J5 J/ h* P- [* T* O7 _2 y b; z% g
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。 & X; D: K/ v/ b; @: A z 3 A- S/ U% n# T+ N# L: m 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。 + E1 z4 a3 X/ R: I0 v% L+ o 2 L+ u$ ~% L+ \% Q8 v $ T4 u, q$ @& s0 m2 S July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. , K* b) h5 V: T6 j' `/ |& z7 o9 N* }" Z6 n# z : L$ N9 v) P$ B% S* K1 P1 n: j! } 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. : O/ s" k& F: T$ ~' u [. l) m" U4 H4 m' ` & Y8 {' W7 M& I! s . X) X$ s1 C% N3 b. mMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. / r& K* J6 z/ g. N+ c& N; ? 0 n( |6 m P+ A- \. \! V: L" @ ' ^# [& @' I/ [$ n7 P6 RThe Expat Exodus + g2 {% X9 Y: a# K2 L6 R6 @- ^4 J
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. d4 o& k' B' P: P% v! \: t
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3 d; v, ?# K. m ) i! g2 J0 X, I' q% o5 L4 `3 O$ aEmigration 8 a0 F3 R2 G. A1 G% uJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 7 n3 k& ]' S0 N# i1 t5 [
; U4 p; Z5 d: y0 Q$ | 3 M/ X. g& w4 e. Q' m% v `# @: a2 l: x 《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。 % W- J4 H/ k: n2 h 5 O4 `' `, g0 @4 V3 B
《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。: o/ S' \2 y6 U5 n8 n
# | Z+ ?- \$ A. a作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
0 |2 p) u6 @& P6 J: xThe People's Liberation Army ) m( H# J. J" @# u% zA 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. ! J! N- Z7 d5 v% V & C8 E- k$ K7 r( S/ ?* ]0 ~1 e 9 c' @) J* S( v9 Z6 g$ L 6 d. ^" K1 ?0 ~9 _0 S+ @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. $ L# j! K: D* Z0 o $ o0 q( D3 ]) I$ f4 f$ D) _ 3 i% D- y( b+ y. L" |. F) H4 a- E8 O1 W+ r* [
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. 8 c e4 t; [! L( w' ~
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; [4 g0 I6 ~$ p' @3 H , d2 j! F. _# `+ C: WWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. : t2 ]$ c& j, f. P9 w9 }% o+ H% b 7 H, y0 ]8 I9 {9 Q+ P ( E. Y8 G: ~9 g9 T( ?Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 4 l: e; _" \5 O. h6 M# l: a& F- h% R: a( f9 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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