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。 9 T( F( X7 ?) M ! h9 B) J$ h+ U) N, T# T# l + q- F9 J5 Z, a: G$ S! H3 |" t, E+ Q5 {4 S8 L7 b8 n
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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。2 [3 `" V* Y h7 X8 h# s: m
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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。 S k. F; I: \% u& [3 k
4 j: }1 K) u6 z$ [# G % ^7 b- ^( N; C+ B/ N$ U4 i1 VJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. t7 i9 @. R( |: d9 s ' C8 H: [4 }7 i( t) v9 x, q' `1 v4 d# y! u( S p 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. " F# {7 Y' C2 R, ~ . h/ [) v, f" O( @. }9 y Q/ X) V! } `2 a 6 x8 @4 C7 A- b7 Y6 yMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 2 ]% ~1 e. X5 [1 G) ^' h% U( s8 C 4 Q' N7 B: j4 H* f8 I5 x4 S4 b6 m The Expat Exodus 4 f; f. z- E$ u( y' SOn 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. - K( U/ ]1 J: f0 L6 j
+ S9 Y; X) S9 n1 [* H$ ^ 1 o7 J4 N, o- w5 g . ^6 D" I. Q$ V& C& `' TEmigration 2 z7 H8 k: P1 z: B* F/ Z% ^: y" p( rJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. n$ y1 u" o/ |
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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。 / P7 G7 j* _7 d( l( `8 c % h( _# b l$ N; Y r% d! n
《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。" e+ r9 U J/ x/ e# Z; t4 A& n- c! y
! `3 A) @. o+ j$ X作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
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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. / J6 i, D9 _# m$ a
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+ z7 b; D' i1 D: |9 x " U5 I: |# F9 r! Z# `& A% a0 F, zVictoria 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. * r8 c% A8 Y* U4 `/ b7 @# y( G5 x4 H3 L1 g0 c7 b
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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. - Z) g. s" m6 ^5 d: ~1 \
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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. % V% l2 p2 e! y; |9 y- S* ~0 T) V2 _) [$ q7 S * G4 X) P2 W$ O) ~/ OHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. . _5 V& `* U' V/ X7 y, C1 B6 H9 J
0 ^( B( _0 Y$ y) e* z9 M, w4 X6 d- Q, v $ n8 z7 C1 l" k `/ X. o! j; x/ f1 VContrary 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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