7 y4 h8 e1 K% Q+ Z" s! S$ T- Z$ { 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。 # [. D5 Y* D- v3 j5 |7 Z2 C r ) @7 C1 J$ o/ D. _3 P5 R; {9 {6 q $ C5 D+ g& ~- K8 Y7 p# fJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.. P" C! E2 |: q* y5 @
& P) m9 a% t7 V5 J" q; ]5 z% i5 s: ]' g- @+ y" T3 O" b6 X 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.4 [7 p* l* ?9 I- X' p; D
" A' w- g4 c& L' Y
u4 U! V, k/ n3 X # P6 O3 h0 p3 b6 h March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ) L) \; z [6 K" F" I3 w L6 \6 A& n$ l3 d4 H# L : e( o7 r# J1 t9 ~ p! E The Expat Exodus " c" p0 V2 r+ W& @
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. ! l! w3 q& P" k. d7 l 2 |7 z1 S8 `7 C0 o " _: w/ b! O6 e Z& d. @# r . _1 L) ?% T5 \1 \$ AEmigration * g& n% `, y9 CJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. , F+ l. N: O! K$ u& g$ R0 _/ ]
2 C' z! l5 L) d; j3 C
) T; R: o8 t* T% ]) u/ d 《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。) Q y/ x3 c3 s. j
* R" R9 M f: I! D 《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。 3 E. U: K3 v( B8 {( W# ]: A 0 b* a, i" E! X 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
- K. q" A0 J# ]The People's Liberation Army U4 Z" \/ ~9 b9 c4 p- Y- w4 ^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. $ v+ @6 c3 c: l; U' K( ?% Y5 x1 H8 ~/ z( [; P" [
# s7 J. U# B( P3 V( ]$ w* ` : ^1 E. w% U& U* ^2 |; wVictoria 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. 2 b2 h+ k3 J* O, b: g4 ? {( w7 z" ]9 T
8 w {% S, t$ \- x/ f* } / l8 ? x7 C( l9 p1 W
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. * I O3 U; }5 u! B4 E7 P
" R$ ?5 F- k3 C. B* J. [- y0 I/ o, S; D/ \- |3 X - w* B: [9 }9 j# d. h+ f2 i( \! sWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.+ G: X( l* l8 k
8 c/ H8 M& O! _3 d! x / ^; P, Y' q- M, ~
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. & `% L2 Y% @$ {$ O% ~) R' Y! p ^" K7 t0 }, w. o
2 P+ |* m$ N, B0 S% Q6 W * d* R; g3 j, G# AContrary to dire predictions, Hong Kong hasn't yet lost its economic edge to cheaper cities on the mainland or to cleaner, more orderly Singapore.
5 z% i5 s: ]' g- @+ y" T3 O" b6 X
# P6 O3 h0 p3 b6 h
: e( o7 r# J1 t9 ~ p! E
/ l8 ? x7 C( l9 p1 W
/ ^; P, Y' q- M, ~