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。 3 z. r5 [$ H/ x) `! } % n' T# {* ~, L! ]/ @9 F : }/ z( d. \# h# Y% F+ {* S( z; T1 K1 Z1 h& \' F! i2 }, M1 V
7 e4 c% `& W: V5 l) e" y
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。 / N" o/ T7 h* Z( Q. J " e( K) o) I2 a/ u
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。& D: G! N7 k4 @- x$ h
+ j5 b6 O E; L2 W6 \% f; ^. a9 ^1 x( w, q" a5 z0 r+ I2 \ July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong./ L1 q# @% T' @( U/ m4 l O
( N! R% C( X) M3 T+ g1 n 5 `6 T8 h% Z: j* K1 ?' S4 |0 ]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. 5 |/ X+ ^8 \. b7 L/ E8 ~/ v9 B: h7 w( q1 S
* U% W; s. _. M k$ }6 E. d! Q& h M! L) L4 \$ T March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 1 T: N' v" J" t) }4 B* {1 F( F$ L" b( u% R: ?4 m$ Q 4 K" k" D& G. U8 e) \7 u" g: V The Expat Exodus ; Q+ U6 G9 ~, U" \, d, JOn 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. ' l5 Q4 I+ t4 ]3 F+ r4 K3 b
' G8 N! _6 P3 [3 a4 G
' ?9 c9 J; V& `, ~ 8 |6 W% j$ i; h1 W$ UEmigration ) b1 h5 ~$ R9 U9 q* E4 _
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. . Q1 D; w' X: |3 A e
S6 u1 _& _/ t/ t
+ M6 b" N& U( s4 u4 a
《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。 2 C: d1 G, E) K8 q- r2 [9 s, w * _% R2 d! Q! S+ 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。 ' { y5 R5 q: C8 _0 |+ I 9 D6 U7 k4 L$ f0 B0 b5 J6 @ 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
/ q8 E- G9 h; G& n+ C2 p {4 V The People's Liberation Army % H9 H- }; o& ?6 w# V/ n# h mA 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. + G# s: d5 z/ R' s- ~( h% s# l+ ~" A' [
1 e M" k ~" m# j$ j1 f1 r 3 N5 k6 H4 V% o- z0 F& M6 D
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. 5 q& E: L% B5 T) b
, t! L" [) {3 E3 O+ {- S3 E# D4 P
3 @$ M @! M( g / p4 p4 i2 x- H
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. " X6 f6 Y5 Q: v- }4 b7 c- F9 [, z5 b" q; h& J; F+ T$ b
' V& ?% m% \$ J5 j, x, [! ^& W Q 2 Y }4 r) r' c- iWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. % k+ a' d D: L * }+ F1 l+ X+ J' ~ ' Z- Q+ q5 I1 C" O; C, t( tHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. , V1 T$ \7 m4 C, u6 v$ G- l' z, J# F2 f# P; @
1 @, g( ~+ M2 A% I+ L % V, T1 S6 I& H$ ~* J) |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.
. a9 ^1 x( w, q" a5 z0 r+ I2 \
6 E. d! Q& h M! L) L4 \$ T
4 K" k" D& G. U8 e) \7 u" g: V
/ q8 E- G9 h; G& n+ C2 p {4 V
3 N5 k6 H4 V% o- z0 F& M6 D
/ p4 p4 i2 x- H
