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。 % V4 u! g8 y5 N h7 c0 f$ p # V0 Z5 R+ T& s2 B0 z( ? 0 \) ?4 w2 N6 z; v! O, P z9 R" V, D' w+ @ H
4 y! S0 e( Y1 z0 R$ C/ O4 n, G 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。& M G* R+ O5 U1 s, `
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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。! c4 n0 h6 w5 H* c1 h7 n
A' `$ A7 H& }4 ~/ f* l 4 T# E7 m. v3 C$ CJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 4 D2 F- g# B6 X z3 ?! J; K N% _7 [( s' b( M; C" y% u2 R; v 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. ! y6 W/ Y4 C+ u+ I ?7 ~ ) g( t* Z; V2 ]( j& Q: G) @4 e8 v5 [, t: m! i5 u7 i$ W6 Z1 O+ D . m5 q/ L2 |4 [0 j March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. + r2 G/ a1 |% b2 a- v$ b3 w/ G
$ G/ p! ]) o6 J " V; z+ c' e9 M; c* e& R6 \( }The Expat Exodus _( u) j0 q- P$ o% a+ T, ~/ {
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. 1 L, `+ [, D7 F8 ?4 \ J6 p
; f0 d2 ^) ^" o; A : L. F& |$ Q2 W, x( _$ t a7 T0 } Y& `6 U* B. b! B: [Emigration % _6 h0 ~5 B' [0 ~! cJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ) W2 _$ |$ s. Q. Q+ X5 y3 e7 v* c' [
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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。 ( j0 t. f5 W( m! { Z/ H; ` 9 u8 G, [0 i1 R/ o% {+ K) F 《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。, `' ]0 F) z# \" i; v
' a7 M$ ?/ `( M, _1 ~" f9 u9 P 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
" X2 ?! Y' h( H: \& _& PThe People's Liberation Army 9 y+ v. c! i8 h! h
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. * ?2 z( i1 ~! P6 r) k: ]5 p 8 D: I% X2 H8 \8 V* A4 h* w3 ? $ s8 ?; N& d8 C0 D* r) I- r- e) k3 ~: Q; B
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. C" @! R$ j. t2 i/ b4 z$ V* w6 a# M, f1 h
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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. " w! o& C+ a9 i' ~! B. v7 r
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9 X2 L/ N$ c+ b6 d. e/ e # W7 T) } [; e- l) v! K7 K9 TWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.- i- g0 ~. Q @' x5 |
: `9 E$ D( V' h! f; y% ? ) s+ Y' v$ [! T3 i# U) _Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ) h- _4 V( Y1 Y. v. o
/ e w) [9 q' ~; _* p2 x# z; _: T+ ~: j! h , D9 a0 A3 e& B5 s8 IContrary 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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