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。6 l# }" X& p- O5 @! C1 L) X
0 s/ h* K& l; H T* ~3 |; Y - l' W" }' m' `$ ^$ x* Y
8 C% }9 m* i( c' r
, H6 C- }0 R9 L8 z) `4 X 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。) l0 t& s6 U. p7 r) S/ V0 c) d) ~
: s' Y1 [' k' R( s
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。4 W: V% `2 f; h. A- f
, P( {9 D: Z: X 9 e" {7 D. z: u1 W* I July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 2 d- ] ~7 s/ S: Z0 I7 E& u0 I" Z! @+ |' u0 ?! J $ z6 G: K; g* A5 O' w7 lFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. % Z; \4 [. U% l O ) F& e1 M+ o6 p3 ~! i 6 Y) @7 f) ]6 Q; x. h: d6 i4 t& g/ e8 n March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. & t7 u1 m! a5 S1 P2 d( \
8 L' y5 ?+ ~ s9 x 2 l# P5 R; n8 `' n0 g- I2 VThe Expat Exodus , }% I+ E2 P% q d
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. ( p" a+ `0 i& S9 M9 I0 |$ i * m* Q$ f. p' M- M n1 z. A , Y" A" j# Z9 f; y ( y5 d! c- ~* u. J' T7 \+ T1 L) f Emigration % O4 d; M& l, |7 E! EJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 9 Q5 i( V. b' Z
6 D( q4 \: Y( X& _4 d p1 U 4 ?# n) n8 o: q0 S5 R
《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。; q9 ^& e j- i% D3 O9 \ z# g
* r) O% a3 z( q& \) }9 p- C: d! g 《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。 " k+ V( z }; r3 d8 Z3 y I 1 L( T w4 z6 U+ d, O$ l8 h! W作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
3 ~% p* P+ ^/ h& N% [2 { The People's Liberation Army 8 d7 Y4 M) v4 ^/ U' e( {! CA 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. , J& J7 \+ U2 @# \, F: ]4 X( J/ v- }+ d) ^
( d3 S' R( X& L6 T) q - N& E$ V1 f. J6 r8 _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. ' V& L4 f! t/ w* F; A5 b$ I ' }" _" p. l D0 v6 _8 u7 B3 w( z" b' ]* z9 x $ M9 @' B) g5 h4 r, s) \+ b
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. 1 W3 S& T: F( @* _" _
q8 M* l+ i' t& C0 F! E6 Z6 _8 A+ [( F $ x8 ^* l9 m( O' f0 wWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover., Z2 H1 p0 x9 ~9 Z+ b7 a; M8 h
$ o8 H: K: Y: m T2 ] ` ' I( S9 }% v) l( m3 aHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 8 q* m1 L# |! W( b+ k$ A3 A
+ @7 v2 Z% o- [' L+ `3 L( }" d * {' Q) b6 \' \0 d" Z. C6 _ " }! n8 j5 V7 U# M3 @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 e" {7 D. z: u1 W* I
. h: d6 i4 t& g/ e8 n
( y5 d! c- ~* u. J' T7 \+ T1 L) f
3 ~% p* P+ ^/ h& N% [2 {
$ M9 @' B) g5 h4 r, s) \+ b
