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。! d/ N# Z' w& S, l' S
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3 w' `7 U Q% Q! c 3 b* I1 M; n- `2 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。& ?, y/ ]: s1 Z: ?. J- j; D. `
; @( v- ]$ K1 i6 K. F: I) ^ 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。* R; J* n' I7 W! w" }! R& z( M! I
6 Y; o- z s( j) z2 D+ ^$ W, ^4 Y4 F! W- ]; F6 q- z: q July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.: }3 I# u8 D8 x+ K; D2 ?7 a, w
+ R5 }1 x2 p6 L0 h, o+ S7 X5 T/ E) ?8 q * F; C5 h- o+ {; y3 YFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. ( I9 {+ a5 t. p) M6 v9 j! U! l , t3 B5 o) ]! M 2 I; \% i) `% ]1 j. m5 U, ~ " L E3 D! M* ~" w# y& Q' lMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. , N4 C6 h5 s" t: R. G2 ?
$ `( ^) M$ Z) ~5 G& w. U+ X: S# m , n( I* z0 X9 r( L/ wThe Expat Exodus & B, ]8 K9 Y* i$ W' E+ Z+ h, s4 m
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. % s2 Q; @0 j( Z; Q- h4 @3 N
: B+ X2 |+ }6 Q" { 1 ^; M( Y. b {" J, z" [6 q9 s, z5 R) u. m Emigration + Z+ ?3 V4 u3 p3 d9 s( v/ K9 kJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 5 @, I! u a" y9 m3 L 2 G1 L. ^1 R; Y, Y; f. l h
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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。, S, h5 ?$ s `1 f4 P
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《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。 ! z J5 J* T2 B& I W$ H1 N8 M2 n , I; X3 }# V D4 `+ t4 d 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
: M8 E% U9 }7 u# @5 h/ P The People's Liberation Army 3 g2 m( R4 U" `% @
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. 6 H+ ~8 E; g0 U% D2 \& R6 P
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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. - b1 d5 b [: ]* ?& o
4 f8 l3 k/ s, j" m$ k$ J 5 F8 y% J) q: `8 g 0 u$ O) u- x# p* NMilton 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. 7 d) H$ i2 g' ~4 W 0 J1 w0 _' n3 l- O 8 ?1 I- M$ @; ?; u; ?+ N5 m * n4 }9 k# R/ U( g; F, F1 T5 @With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. % p1 e! B9 a6 L6 a, w- n/ F2 ]8 \4 X2 ^ + z G: e3 d! \" C* fHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ! Z9 {" G X+ N J$ o. t ) I0 t' b9 X i& w5 H; Y0 A' v) ^/ {1 o& V6 f$ T 2 K6 Z! i/ U) G2 ^5 q* pContrary 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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