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。 B; Q# w# y) ^+ Y) j' _ % V8 E P3 h" D: [7 ~ ?7 a % H& J& [' @# N$ _ , v7 M; \$ _4 J3 \- ?! Z; Y# @6 e9 E5 n$ K% r# b3 ]
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。! M" n: V ^' ?+ p0 x- n
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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。 : _1 ^+ ^( e0 L5 | 1 K& i4 \& F$ O$ W$ ?0 w6 L ! }& F5 {: o( x$ j, ]0 D! IJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. " f' E% L) T" C. ^2 V0 j+ ~( Q5 c+ |( B + p2 o: U0 m; G( P! J8 |! }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.( i- U% \3 u U3 Z
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( P& r& }1 x8 M& ^ G 1 A+ {) @/ g: v* n5 D/ k March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. % w T! P6 e& Y/ m/ H- K* Y2 I
- ^7 C% Y8 G/ h Y. J. M$ X% J 5 z4 q0 y) X1 j* f& \6 f/ M4 W7 sThe Expat Exodus : F6 T" `7 k: U( \) ?. l# V* j LOn 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. , M) h$ P1 R8 c ?" g# I / b& X5 A& ~$ E- K* b4 ] % D; i7 u$ ^6 I" ]9 h& E % Y' Q! D- G$ I- A( Q4 ^* UEmigration - H7 u4 l% A- L' |; LJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ; i$ p Y& W* C& ~& G5 @- H r 4 r. @6 n' B' I' K# S! s
7 J5 z \, d) A1 b 《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 \& F4 ^& x& b9 E; D * N. f: L) k$ |& D2 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。 w3 O% C& Q1 x; D 8 m3 B/ U G! _( o作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
1 f0 W. x) Y' ], g% d+ } The People's Liberation Army . E9 Q; a5 W! P2 o7 GA 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. $ v& }( F' @$ l0 m0 S# ^4 Y3 h
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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. 1 h1 D' C! A- C) D
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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. 8 @- E5 i8 L9 G. v7 s$ O, A0 S' @) Q0 T% L' B" R
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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. 7 I& M( V# F0 G, E& D% B* n+ m8 T+ F. q: V$ i7 f 2 P+ I" \5 V! H; d% m- v1 y
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. * G$ |# L# C/ b $ Z0 j$ i& y; f8 g+ b. f# H4 a/ R/ g* w: _8 ~ ^, D7 ] # Z% D& t4 j4 l$ J7 ?9 a! NContrary 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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