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。& `( Y1 i' m4 s% y8 T
* K4 a5 x0 y; v E & ~/ l& a) s' P. Q" m% s5 P* h% S2 o. Y# h" [
5 i2 |0 c& D; o& P 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。# H g$ Q4 t# K( g
5 r) i4 g! T4 v/ Q3 c$ u. i
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。, m) X. D L+ n. J. b% `
" ^. f6 t1 k6 z8 q4 I8 ? ( m% s6 j% x- X& CJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.! b) U" i3 W) G8 ?3 S3 G( z
4 D& _, p o: N4 p1 b! x/ S9 c; w! i, X8 ]( Q) h: T 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. , f6 L$ b7 m# p: d* v& C1 ? 2 b! u2 a8 E$ l" O: ?$ t9 J) b: r/ C% C5 X: e/ v$ d! k 8 ~5 q+ N: \% M% H( n6 G March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 6 k6 {2 g- r! y' d' ~ u/ I" y2 R: f1 T7 }8 r, E, k r. j: W . d( M5 \* g2 c" ^6 y5 F" D The Expat Exodus . k3 ~! ~* U! }
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. $ k* V/ R6 Q( Y3 S: I 0 K5 O9 {3 i# l3 g7 z
: Z& m! n% S9 f/ z$ n" @ 1 B* C" L+ ^; e0 J7 x _! t1 CEmigration + [% h5 ]- E# M0 J
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 8 X0 r5 j& O9 A3 O( B ) e) V" Q0 T- o! N ' {9 d8 C5 t$ z! [( W
《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。 , N4 d: `5 q! Y( Y$ s5 o, {' [1 y 2 i) [. f6 k) H) ^# H; C 《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。; t; \2 n- Q- s% r7 b" K
; ]; e5 T2 e- X; @6 Q/ _# S 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
- M( B" U) p7 p1 @& e( ? The People's Liberation Army $ A- z5 c0 a! S1 V
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. F# s# F( o- B1 l* H# |6 p6 H& e) K b3 \
7 v) j4 q" y: t, g" P8 V: X6 q ) K9 t8 V J4 F
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. R6 }( s+ x, L4 P: `' ]+ s) }4 H/ I5 j # v, O5 m4 j7 H$ R" I! N) h, P# V6 [5 Q( p4 a & ?, E( _# A2 N X% q+ O
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. $ v% n ?9 [# f; l* T0 o" V7 a0 v) b
8 _, n6 o* T1 x1 G# M _ 2 |4 v1 c* f- l# |" g9 U% g+ }9 V 5 C2 B) R. q% k# E9 ]' b! vWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.' \" Q- \4 A; ^
. G7 V" j9 E1 T& D 2 V/ s% m& h+ c, K7 \: MHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. % h( O9 ^0 Y' T# Y5 N4 o5 Z( W. K
! z5 y1 y1 l5 c6 `5 |! d
, x) t) r/ D6 x+ ` [( a8 \; F5 d% }7 @3 O, a1 ^
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.
9 c; w! i, X8 ]( Q) h: T
8 ~5 q+ N: \% M% H( n6 G
. d( M5 \* g2 c" ^6 y5 F" D
- M( B" U) p7 p1 @& e( ?
) K9 t8 V J4 F
& ?, E( _# A2 N X% q+ O
( a8 \; F5 d% }7 @3 O, a1 ^