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。 h; e' R4 {% z! h9 h" j 3 P" ` \! ~4 F9 ~" {+ ^; B 2 R* x1 O2 ]- G c3 s( C, W2 }1 B$ W% a( o
5 Q# {9 H) | ]4 k* o 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。 $ z& ]& D; N( h# r5 H! l 1 g5 C* k$ l- t7 Z# P- p 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。 1 |2 d F4 I! g: e% d" s 2 D0 N: [3 I. ?( F) a8 A8 d9 C5 u 3 Y {5 p% q; v; d; ?July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. % i4 r7 F, v) x" g+ p6 X v- j/ H7 n; u; r4 d 0 {% i1 w* ]) U+ W: b% `5 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. % ^) V3 }) s. n/ _, N: P7 r $ M+ }. ?/ U2 K0 f4 v 1 }8 z. q! h" z f0 {$ ~ # X' f1 Y% J: @' Y2 VMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ! C+ e! v$ V8 M) O/ |; W 6 m- p. O3 K# i- h/ |5 O; ~& | V& g o8 C& U# DThe Expat Exodus * } F/ S8 A" X% s7 ZOn 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. ( x1 G" E6 z0 M! f `( a+ j; Q7 o6 z1 w% g
* a) r/ X, i: z" l6 _) t2 C0 M3 P& g. E4 o2 v* m( n; j/ S7 @ Emigration ( L! |+ y8 c$ p. ?Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ' j( \; B8 F* T- v, Q& q& r% |
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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。7 h5 b0 x% u$ Z- z$ ]
/ }% _9 q! Q# t! x8 g, J. \ 《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。 & Z# w6 Q1 Y8 A5 V5 S; h- _# C/ f 9 z D1 q4 I7 t5 ?' M- s3 J, W# b B 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
; b l: u0 h4 g9 ]2 {, eThe People's Liberation Army % M( J/ e+ z) K$ N, e9 ]; r# m; k" X1 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. ! G9 E0 w6 g( ]+ R L6 j2 `
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5 ]# r2 [7 ]4 Y! c# r+ K4 h" l. f 4 y: g0 L/ _( j% P- W: MVictoria 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. , W7 t, m; Q5 v
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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. . ` i9 n) h. x1 O$ u9 r* T
, ?1 c+ F* x- `( Y+ L + Y( _1 W0 Z3 m& q 2 c( ^' @# x4 y2 g7 vWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. . V' r+ M; a* ^! k' Q8 S, E& v# `5 P7 N& ~7 `* u . E! B3 w/ }5 G1 U3 r2 vHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 7 D& X3 Q9 \: {) p$ n0 w. B9 s
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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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