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。/ h2 k* J7 N* k% U# ]( y
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# y! G+ ?1 O1 b 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& w8 {6 W! i 5 H7 ]' L7 Y5 j% W& Z) i& P# v
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。 ! ]3 J- O5 \( [1 |( v; d & k8 D! w+ w2 e3 s- y- q 4 G, x" [ c. U t July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 1 B9 f7 ^1 T& a/ |0 b' G 3 M) ~' C1 `7 Q; b1 [/ o ~/ [+ k G 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. ! p* I) A; i5 j3 D+ L; W9 T; x$ ^1 C# m
" g: ]. c: Z1 ^$ x% b. y $ D) s: s# O8 q4 y/ A. f# p March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ) }% [- p& y& u1 V. [
3 s. Z. x! N- }, j! o 3 H5 c+ e! g7 T+ \1 U3 L' dThe Expat Exodus & y' @9 r {/ p) X M# Y5 l
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. ( U3 u) U7 |) B4 V4 o* o
8 m5 j1 k! M, x3 p1 o& @2 F 1 b& ~0 Q- }9 R6 U3 s5 @ 8 G# @1 {: @+ w8 ?Emigration 2 p* ?' _' s+ G1 N5 F+ f9 UJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. " e8 D1 m1 g! x0 B5 D; M" 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。 3 O r- L1 r1 I$ L8 g7 E. W9 G" n+ n9 s ' V5 B# G( C; I2 T
《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。 % b- Q" p+ r: X. [& w5 O , S( h7 ?. \: c# o# K, T作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
1 D: J% ]3 l2 WThe People's Liberation Army , }6 ] k& F* `/ K+ s+ G2 r
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. ' ~7 R- w( e% T% ~4 ~& l \3 g7 w, k& i, S/ l0 L
$ F( R# Z1 C# r; I % A; X% C ^. ?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. 1 f! o$ }6 ]) ]# ~' Q1 c
5 D2 q+ J% X. }; V" |4 o, N 4 @! }/ B8 f, h1 E$ I" C( X' \) C J- W/ ^5 H8 {; pMilton 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 G9 u. T# h4 e7 M7 x# D
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6 I7 z: _$ ~7 y3 q& Y, q1 a( T 1 Y! ?2 P9 I; f3 _* cWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.# Y! @( k. R, {1 x7 ^
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Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. : E$ o0 Z1 ^; }- p# T7 M# m' y& B& P' x4 n* [( R2 j
2 U2 D, ]& d9 D* S$ @ - Q% v' E: B2 fContrary 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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