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。" w# D5 l4 P. W4 e4 T
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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。 ) i# ?' U/ `7 _% C: f2 c {% Q1 l : P9 v$ [4 d9 x
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。 : A7 f$ K6 V6 m& h1 k& ]" s # b; u: D6 q- d4 N+ Z4 M$ K2 e9 @$ Y9 G* z July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. " m6 c6 j! t/ ]9 J0 Z. _" L' J6 l % N; F% r. @: rFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 7 N/ x2 m2 h x: b1 N. v; P" D8 M# X4 i! W1 h, t, b, S: T6 V
, k3 L! d+ e+ t+ ~/ p' k ( G8 ~8 b# o" o# G March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ' r9 G5 w$ g, w! T+ f( S' c- X
9 n1 \4 O- w9 G1 T( v- K & T L7 M) F$ }The Expat Exodus ! i' B$ o( _& R K& c+ a$ d/ C
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. 6 M) A A% S3 ?3 Q; z1 o 8 n* Q$ K) [7 L7 W7 Q0 {- g3 S9 d5 K
; k. ?- d) t% {3 V8 d2 j1 L5 ~! q# N ! g: s7 \, g9 S& _6 C Emigration # l* }' j I- a* l9 OJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 6 o# f0 \3 i; B# j4 t . e$ y4 w, u- Y/ B' f# t
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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。/ D: ]+ Q3 D! s: F& y/ o
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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。 5 z5 ^8 K/ e3 F+ Z/ a* q 1 f" |4 _3 a3 | 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
$ Y. h; K7 [+ s& H( bThe People's Liberation Army - g% k' F. o1 j/ \
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. $ J' h! |% v. X
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' _ x3 t% i, U5 h0 g+ @ 4 l2 }9 c ?. s5 @0 F4 F3 \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. 6 _9 u# Z+ \$ h! p2 b
: l; C! O# [2 e3 {: L3 l( ?: _6 Y- D0 c- ?3 i' X 6 k( P E1 O: k, X3 }; c$ jMilton 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. 1 I& f8 M3 A+ ^, _7 k 9 Q" N5 z7 A, n8 a: R0 a ; _6 F4 h* b4 H3 u 9 b* Y$ R) S$ B0 p6 H! w9 lWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. ! s' M' T9 f3 m5 q9 K5 h1 P' M8 l- o7 ^. w3 e7 L % b5 c4 K7 E9 C8 x! [! EHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 6 j/ |' p" ~5 W* M5 r% U1 I1 R+ H * K5 V5 [8 S; t 9 p- z9 Z2 D. Z% H. H( \8 |3 q& u$ Q
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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