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。2 D5 [, R( l4 \( h D0 m
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; _+ }7 p$ S$ X" g/ ]% | 最新出版的《时代》周刊,以25页的篇幅探讨回归十年香港的变化,并以“阳光灿烂中见阴霾(Sunshine with Clouds)”为点题。对于《财富》杂志当年惊世的《香港之死》报道,《时代》坦诚认错,承认姊妹杂志完全是“错误地”及“差劣地”作出推测。《时代》解释香港过去十年经历金融风暴、禽流感、SARS、市民为基本法廿三条上街示威等……当世人以为香港贵为福地的气数已尽,香港却一一熬过来。 5 [" T# B, B6 o+ M% G6 C ! {9 y# p$ \* w! N
离回归十周年尚余三个星期,《时代》指出香港近期的股市屡创新高,物业格价亦稳步上扬,正值阳光灿烂时,不过晴空之中却有阴霾:香港前景仍受许多不明朗因素影响。 7 _3 N% ^* ~6 N2 i# G # A7 o* D9 j4 W% U# K . K. }) @% `2 p+ j1 _" ~6 ]July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. % N- z, Z$ @' \) @ + F# }' D% n# N7 z9 v) k1 Q, U: _7 ?3 O 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.) G$ S _* W$ K5 G
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/ `5 U% H( l9 ~0 ]' N- k3 k! ^) Y% J; l2 b* H* v March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 9 \) h. x+ ~9 K* [2 S T2 G( U& i3 d1 |& ^, T7 ]- Z2 E' f" I; P The Expat Exodus ( c8 k1 g5 H( b3 p8 S( G
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. 7 R& l4 o- ~9 d2 o `
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; \/ \9 }2 F* T. ?/ p9 J3 v; N 9 w% t1 ^ r. V Emigration / N6 Z) N0 X& a' YJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ' q& R, k7 {& F
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! o' I' ?; ^) n ?* x* [9 i. J8 T 《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。" ]/ e1 x. Z& v# }7 d; h3 q& _
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《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。! x( o/ f1 s2 _5 |# i F3 ?
! b- H! U7 Y) n6 N作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
, ~6 j. V1 f! }% |% ?The People's Liberation Army 2 L$ P& Z% b+ Q; i5 p! y
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. 5 f4 w6 d9 C- a D/ n0 |/ Q6 j ! E& S" A z9 u: J; r% K ( d) J& E8 e" l: J4 b5 b " @5 n6 }* ~) k$ S. ~5 oVictoria 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. " u7 U" J Z; d, {( U2 K" A
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; E& p9 p; A/ o; x$ P + W/ |3 o$ Q5 E5 b1 n, ZMilton 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. # ?. L4 ^% r) |- @2 r5 R/ z: f( I6 A' I D7 X9 _( q+ ~
) l2 |" _( v0 y! T . O$ [: `' a+ H" `& p) j8 m' OWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover., ^6 F: O/ l4 `" Q
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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. 9 M! Y% |! N' k
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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.