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。 % p8 @7 Y# \2 n/ [4 i# c9 a 8 W; C4 }( J( R0 C1 k/ p8 c' p
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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。 $ ?6 J2 r4 U) I- [ + e/ j+ x$ d( {1 c, S% a
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。0 X/ O0 b# W, K9 w, e, S, s& ~" a" N
0 v, G' u$ o# \. l % R! `: R) J: `& e0 D! ]July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. ! \) z- h) Q5 a: | $ A, \% U/ N5 T+ J* {7 Q/ Y& T2 n T ' \" q8 d9 }0 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. : [" |, C4 l0 ?' f) t, e, `7 z# W& `9 w" ]7 D
% i5 F u0 t9 i! U5 I / q: C& n$ K5 `2 UMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. % i; C6 w2 A) {2 l7 t% T2 B; _ 7 I& O, D- I R h! DThe Expat Exodus 4 S0 W: b" {2 ~" H H7 A _) ~7 J" 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. 5 ]: e% g2 I! a2 C+ _
# `1 b( u8 F( h% C) |) S3 d6 a& u * o6 V5 K) g u9 g $ c: n, \1 V; G2 d \( U5 v6 E Emigration 8 `0 W1 h; @) t5 T7 Y ]6 uJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. % w+ l H3 m5 E, J3 |! @9 J# i 1 C8 {. u/ x$ A
- N# {+ j3 k& K 《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。 5 y. r6 H" x; ^' Q! d+ ^ 7 W) f" B3 i, @
《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。: I) d7 m* p! t* D1 w0 ?. p" W
, G% V; b- e( C作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
+ e6 S4 `/ [. L4 m+ A The People's Liberation Army W% ]$ o n; ^1 ?' @* R
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. % q! i2 ?- y8 {2 m8 h4 g4 p' R: W$ t& {0 \1 E) `
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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. $ V) x1 ? u) b. ], ?' ^ ; z1 k' s9 j1 Y# t$ h# K2 } g+ `, d- m* ~' V ; e" d7 W7 p: n+ H% X% w! v
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. 3 I0 W, d6 n; @. c; z/ a5 U 6 G7 }1 j4 c! ^ % k$ F+ w& a" ]7 q' _ " `8 n e0 O8 A3 u* kWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.5 d6 o; M. O9 O$ f8 e+ E
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Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. $ a* x7 v$ j3 C% z " w: B! Q; E2 n& b$ V , Z8 a! D- C4 N- H) ~) a! e$ T: F- n
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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