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。" {. r2 J9 n Z) g D- t$ S
! [& ~! ^% ^5 V( } 4 V/ W: Z3 {7 [2 U, _6 q * |( p; f1 d- N x2 ?( j- o, H + ?( P: |/ J( D0 E P 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。 . ?) @( t6 t. r/ y: i3 J( p6 u U: A 9 c$ K$ z: ]% C! ] 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。9 K @( ^: I( Y6 O4 y; M' `
+ \1 g2 q' H6 N% a0 K+ k5 I# U1 [7 `7 y( _; c& ^) F2 F July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong." k3 i2 r* N+ S' k3 O' z1 L
9 {7 y+ H3 j- `5 p4 }7 g/ @; U' l: `* A ! g& D! r, t$ a' l! P) tFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.: a! }3 v/ p" X( o O
* `: B0 h1 u7 t " l- u) |$ a: z0 _* d+ P' P+ Z: l( G- u8 j! ?7 j" k March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 5 T- d: S# X: j1 ?
) r8 p( D3 G. Y) O4 y- y 0 J% o1 T3 P3 Z& q1 }8 QThe Expat Exodus 1 }5 G8 g: n3 s- ] r
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. E& [4 E7 a) S7 L, k, z ^ 3 z& E1 [% K' v1 r; `" d& x
1 ^9 a0 S4 Y ^4 A! `/ H. G& m/ X0 i& O$ ~! p9 H% B; t8 c Emigration . C3 u* y8 r5 j+ l+ y j3 GJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 6 C1 q; p/ o7 D$ h* y- r; ] * N) x% T7 m8 [7 z
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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。 2 x: H* j- w& v u0 i 1 b0 d6 v X) ~ 《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。 0 U0 O; }6 p$ z7 \ & \- H7 ^, l. A' M作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
. x3 V2 u- R5 v0 C ]3 AThe People's Liberation Army - }& p3 m9 w; V
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. % x! s- A/ _" h! y6 h# y$ Y / S) I$ O- q& C/ O8 O# z , R& R2 j1 H5 ^( ~" t) ]& H2 n 6 M, K( W/ F% N8 MVictoria 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. % W% N- f8 `" A- Q6 Q2 K
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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. - _- b. k& z7 t! R y r8 r% D9 a ]
9 a+ |& N7 ~4 I9 z6 X9 x% i , [9 V8 f, W a* NWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 1 j1 U8 ], l$ x& `4 N$ Z& T6 _0 Q* Z" C' N, D . _. |* ~5 L, Z: W$ I5 {" y% h
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 8 K# r3 `+ L; J& g
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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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