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。 & c- l ]" n6 C1 O! V 5 h. D5 Z6 p* T, Y 6 V; B+ E9 b9 d" `9 S; d, |+ ` - M/ k W' l3 P; ~/ k$ h9 K- b8 `3 \3 P5 a/ Z% v
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。 3 h# @+ J0 N5 K5 A* A 2 ~* B f3 Y, z3 @" v: h4 |9 L" ~: ] 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。1 A- B4 @* t* X3 h' T3 l! F, B
$ q+ B/ ^1 d$ L% @0 X- y) ^ {3 Q& L) I$ k4 F a July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. + } Y3 z0 w( z6 d, R7 O, q( L# d! _7 K! H0 ], p" v: H $ ?& Y1 t$ d5 N 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. $ M' e" I7 ~% w. }: a( B. q8 S K # ] }, [9 U* J, U ( m/ _# D- S3 z; j- U ?) D( ?* |( v( k& ]. N" ]2 g8 d March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 4 U$ i% V7 z+ A/ n2 e& ]$ {3 Z4 M1 ] A$ S0 W, \0 U; w0 | * K& k: X* x8 |0 h The Expat Exodus & q( o+ t8 }7 P. \
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- x- E( q/ S# |+ ]; d
- C* T- M2 s& K' r: h : E2 c; d d! l6 S5 C- v" R 9 [5 F/ r" _5 J% REmigration $ w% F: @+ T4 T6 r# ?/ q
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. " K0 j6 |# F, b) v6 G. \, D! K0 P( B5 O , Z8 c- T w; q/ X, Z- W7 w , K4 a0 N% ^, v, H& `" ]" _1 c' X: j 《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。1 O, l5 j( E' D% z
1 j# X2 W0 I/ b+ W' J+ g7 w1 f4 K 《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。 ! ]: q) N/ A+ K z1 @; a 0 X' K2 I9 b) Q( S( T作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
' F! x, b2 a$ s6 y5 m lThe People's Liberation Army ! \$ A( J! _7 N6 S+ m( C, }2 F
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. ; z1 D% p4 k0 S% r
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% H6 y) w8 w$ j( T" }- h ) k7 {7 ^3 q' F; h# V& K% hVictoria 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. ; B) B8 O* j6 P# \7 L) }
1 M: U6 @, y# k 9 Q, J5 D% q, A$ e) \* ^6 I" C / g. E( t5 d- l s" c4 _; r( mMilton 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. 1 x: P5 ^) w$ a! ^
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. D5 Y X1 c$ k: n m5 E c 3 b9 f8 r3 L( B. D- y- _' {With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.0 X' J, `" L6 g) c
/ N7 N4 j3 J8 n# J7 K 9 |- F: g% W% QHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 4 Z# L- a% b, f6 {
1 i8 M$ O/ S$ v% U0 p - t/ N7 L; J6 q$ }. _$ { , A* t, e" ~! A' ]5 B% ?; `2 z1 VContrary 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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