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) _; ]* M/ S: j& \$ K a " k# t/ w( o. [) b% c5 N- x8 n6 n9 m- \6 Y. E i* H* A+ Z
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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。 0 J- i! `( s3 @, N- |0 \8 X% U ' o9 u3 H" G+ t! _2 v 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。 ' ~- w6 ^1 v! W. B5 f, j! h . R! X) A2 H8 H( B$ h/ z 4 Y' ]8 l) }. a- i July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.& e4 d1 `$ D; L* K7 c
, ~% }2 x, p4 V2 I , z/ H5 H" I' sFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.# s2 y9 S5 t2 i7 Y$ a9 r
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0 Z" s" `2 G9 b' A8 o + A5 D1 Y% J5 c; K. {" L0 N* B6 o' cMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. A; [3 J- s3 o" e+ ] 9 \) n( u6 L6 f9 Q9 Q2 A$ L( x! z7 S , X- p! M: S- L* T" F. u) X% ]( ]The Expat Exodus + |5 x, |( u: ^# g, e# Z
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. , ]2 a/ r; j% C K6 v 4 w- U: A6 q7 X" S3 h* N 3 _* D' T3 z/ I; [ ( x* M' b. K& f, W8 D Emigration $ f0 A+ z1 h- ?* i" h! e- a
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ; S/ X( A5 x! U* T2 ]0 A5 A * ^ R+ T0 k' v8 e
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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。 # B# y4 F) x3 u! K' l0 c2 x) F 5 d# A" C& w8 N& t% U1 g. P! `
《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。 ; i2 X! x! @0 ]9 q% W _9 \ . `* R' N; I: s+ v* c作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
) L: s2 X) v5 w: S The People's Liberation Army 3 Z. A5 f) I. f0 t ]* S* QA 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. : E2 Q1 i" r1 a% {; Q0 k
+ r8 A" q# q6 n6 z9 S8 l& |5 H 7 U' ]" Q* [9 A! @. h" Y $ P# T1 R. f0 q9 q _/ D2 \% rVictoria 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, {+ \* u" w! j& a5 I& G# t: D/ [& B% g$ R: o9 O9 Z
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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. ) z0 V$ B C3 v4 X# O+ F& l) j+ i3 `+ ~, n+ ]4 l
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With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.3 J: K8 F% s6 h& L; s- Y' @ q
3 H, @+ d, s3 n8 @ ! s# q1 B& t9 w# Q1 x1 s+ IHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 4 U' c2 u) F0 r' m) q. t# W7 C9 Z# {5 c
& l6 X$ K$ e0 x2 D6 u, X$ b7 q / H5 C7 g- F3 h( N- n9 DContrary 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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