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。 # O* A, w: Y& s 7 x: U; Y# G6 ~' R: g8 S' I8 f4 d# u9 e- X+ j4 J
- E; O2 Y/ Y2 W6 B) I0 O- O - q" e# x3 k6 H6 |$ q 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。 0 O2 t+ i% N }7 g + ^2 q% u, e: M2 A4 x 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。 ( W; O6 b7 M b b3 X# L$ u8 S 5 T3 T9 [( X% Y0 Y' U * i5 s: U: [: g+ D5 ~9 ~July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 5 g$ M' t: N6 d: m6 b7 [- n) ~* R3 o* k) c ! X/ k" I) l, i& u b 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.! _! Y4 Y ^) l, T7 I; e1 B6 D/ E3 L
/ F5 P% v; t+ Z" i0 `6 o' D$ S! R. N: x6 e& u * a; S! N z* M! E& mMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. - e5 _- P; f3 _0 Z" ]- c- O2 i4 o$ H7 p, z T2 B9 s! s; l The Expat Exodus . I% X. j/ N/ {" ?' kOn 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. - h2 ~: I# I7 M( {4 T
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. # Q, M; U4 {2 N9 r4 K
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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 g6 I8 E0 i& a8 V. `! Y* t( j " C6 s; b) n' M; p7 C0 H
《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。 * O, p3 L0 @8 ^4 C ) B0 N( h0 D. e) K5 [" Z, J作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
/ [: h W: Q8 e5 IThe People's Liberation Army ) X+ J* t( \# V2 q# L. U" iA 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. 9 K5 m0 P# V' c1 E) K8 H1 y
8 \. Z) x; ]# W/ H$ N3 G+ `0 ^! h I ! Z3 M' e! F, o5 Z( FVictoria 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. ' k" ~' ` J3 B% q5 j# z a+ w ' X- c; g1 Z) D* `: p8 i- V " u) m+ X1 }1 O7 Q1 Q2 j+ P : h/ ~ ~. F( S' z- Y0 kMilton 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. # j7 ? b& `1 Y) u: i5 T
! r, h/ T7 B3 w9 s/ B" G% I $ b0 Q- V) T2 x# g2 T3 c, s' q# E " ]# K; D) D% P6 qWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. - \! m/ n6 c% w/ {% s2 X6 g* L' q5 R: p/ E4 m( f5 A ; m& V) M/ P% a/ h& n' J. ZHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. + X! \; R9 ?6 Z1 P J# |
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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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