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。( F+ C/ U) `, I B1 G9 Z3 X
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# J3 w9 F: A. n; K 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。. r' X( p# @- w+ W/ R
+ r- G. z* E5 _ D/ o 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 R0 r9 d0 ]' z
' Y/ u: r. S( r o' c/ U . m( C8 K/ [' n7 V1 TJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.5 W- m o& E: x4 Q2 T
9 T0 s! R/ e& Q) X U 9 P# O. ]0 j* H9 [+ s" f* O m9 @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.' U& ?9 H, l: [% l4 V
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' w8 U6 b) u! K6 J* k4 ~+ g* d . l/ R! H) s6 nMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. " |9 B) }9 c; R1 I
6 M2 F( `' X, F/ S + U& y* b' k% Q( J. Z% @0 n0 FThe Expat Exodus ; l) x% s! P, n* a+ m% d
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. " O d# c# T8 c# z6 N* j
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& W+ G+ L ^- O5 a0 o( P, E 6 }# P5 Y" L3 m8 \% a Emigration % d% l1 _& A4 z; L
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 6 w& W* U1 C. s/ E4 [3 B9 ~6 j3 \
- V @8 b& H5 j5 ?1 B# r; M * V2 ]8 s" b+ v$ d( V% t 《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 T2 _( x! s8 o/ N Z% M/ ]* D + _2 F; s/ |7 c9 F2 { k1 [: ~7 K7 y
《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。4 i; S: x6 A' `
6 j% g& o# q, p2 s m作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
. T" W+ g6 A( X" m6 h/ s z' I5 c6 z The People's Liberation Army + x2 G/ J2 i C1 A
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. 0 `/ z- w# G& y ~7 b" S$ w4 t2 M1 Z
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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. 2 l; n2 G" M5 W8 B" X1 r+ c2 g( r q. _
% w9 M$ h' i0 y- M ) P" E. [5 U4 t a" vMilton 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 _) ?- D+ E: U/ b, C
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9 z$ w6 p$ v$ p ! d8 J) X% @/ w$ k5 J8 CWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.* N- Y7 C. M: @6 T
4 @7 u @8 ~: k% w ~. ^, q4 W % @ F! i8 T; I5 D4 X* [Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. / h4 }( q: ?+ ]( o0 n- Q% ]+ i6 F! `5 H0 V* T, l" l4 b/ U
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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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