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/ ?0 D- S# ^% M% q 5 X A) I: ~! m, a! ] / ^ I, A8 `/ \0 K9 V. U7 _/ H
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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。 + k3 o+ H' m: D3 {" d ) u# l- Q0 d) p, S
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。 7 N, a8 J" |# X7 M o1 o ' C" Q$ z+ n' x" ~8 O, { " R5 b( ~5 H; h# f1 a1 o3 i7 |July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.0 P2 ?; \; F! H9 z" h. d$ a% p
' j- Z' l% t$ R; ~8 u2 o; K1 r* e1 r1 C N ! o* P8 R; }4 K) iFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 5 u0 o! c* P$ i0 u8 o 2 \% ^7 }' S# f2 I6 x! q r) t! y/ ]% z $ d; c) O9 H6 L$ p* r- y9 L8 Q2 AMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. " b" ?" h/ o8 v+ q/ I' Y0 O% N/ J e2 a, f & R' k5 T3 Y: c4 L( G3 r+ B, |( l The Expat Exodus 4 C! H+ g0 l% X& W* aOn 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. ' ~% I, `! U* E8 r R. L # D9 \+ P, M/ x" w0 D 8 L# }' D) ~) A4 H' E w7 L - \+ ?' G9 o2 |Emigration + P) _9 v- g; Q" Y: Y1 MJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 0 \7 m7 \5 P2 J2 l A 0 K% O2 o+ e* S6 w( e; D ( i: x/ z* f5 d3 _9 Y
《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。8 c5 q2 ]0 _) f# l R! d
. R- g( {3 N( x% H9 t" s 《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。( P6 u# ]/ u1 _* l
9 I: `; L% B% M% H6 g. m 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
2 P z, r0 d; j$ [- P3 [The People's Liberation Army . ~) H7 y5 O$ C: m; ^- F, d
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 U1 _/ k- a4 H
+ O9 U) _$ g- S# L ) z/ Z! u+ y, i " R3 _! f6 O. K8 X2 F+ r. wVictoria 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. 0 v4 l" ]9 N! }; `( |5 K6 I2 t: A
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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. $ G' L) `( t1 @5 b' [7 b! E! ?# z b( m
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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 i" L7 j; h8 u Y ! I0 d0 f5 y- T) C3 u0 ^, b4 \2 J ' n+ ], }- {6 w' _0 _2 IHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. : Y z$ D/ L; r; p . k5 x3 J8 G. Y7 V) f 8 C9 A. w5 B* l # A2 d r' n- m7 L$ D' Z7 {5 ]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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