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。 ! o' l& a$ |* h7 k( }3 V. N 3 q: @% ]3 P, Y" ^1 n' D9 W6 d+ }# N
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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。 " U/ [, ~/ S, x" K- }+ f% t- u , p" y! f2 S7 r7 G
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。3 _ c& ]$ ^ y, [! u# j# W
4 V7 s6 G* n6 ]" D ) o, U/ i! t5 O7 `5 U! g, ZJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.: \6 b- t" ?9 P+ c, M9 v0 _
; _; i2 T% Y; |$ j& K $ V/ j; |& N4 I. v5 E8 ?, BFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.3 }4 r, t* p2 W! l0 c
{8 I, h# O4 i: w, y2 `' E6 u/ k ?% [ + L+ h( F3 c7 C o; {9 j March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 3 q. d2 L+ I7 x 6 }7 F6 B# ?9 q8 } 9 C1 j G% |7 M# v* @: F: W1 JThe Expat Exodus ' K4 z2 @- g6 n
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. " v( b! l5 X/ \0 J" h % [! F' K& b6 X- q2 M
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 3 ?' W& ~' @7 f/ r/ w: s+ s
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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。 " M3 _0 \( q# t$ H# f% X 3 n9 W- Q+ `( K
《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。 & Y! A' y3 \ x1 w & {1 M' }& S, u1 [( S 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
5 c: }& ^* O8 |7 U2 D. D: B9 \The People's Liberation Army ; |5 g9 {4 v) s) g8 N9 ~* Y2 kA 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. U0 k* i. e' i) o! R' Q9 Z2 b2 M9 }8 w! c& p, i$ k+ f* O
- I' v1 y5 w) s. A5 h 1 ]6 k, W9 {# U* XVictoria 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. - z( W) E2 L/ a6 m0 M
0 w- s7 G' b; |9 ^, s9 ^& A 4 T( L+ |, `0 {% F7 ~0 |* m * v/ O: @: n$ \% O7 J- A4 m3 Y' `% DMilton 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. 4 X7 j) m% G% t2 W/ c- a! M$ J
9 [- x7 H( C. J I/ S1 m) o% \, \$ [$ m* t1 p1 ^- q 2 P8 D' h) X; }" N. P) O# UWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover./ x/ U# E4 ?5 I3 e1 p- ]; t* \
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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. , y- |) l3 F+ d X m
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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.
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