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。 4 M0 t% o1 y T F$ Y5 l9 b% p9 Y. x ' D3 t* Y+ A" t" K) Y# }0 t/ J& d' ^- R
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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。4 I3 q+ Q8 e0 M( L9 x
& c/ W/ i) P6 L( A2 L 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。 & P' R, d2 W+ \8 Y6 R+ L; e: \4 I 6 v f5 ], t9 ^9 |1 R+ R % Z4 Q! v3 {/ J2 {9 P1 b# q) j July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.9 P Z$ h p1 u7 L8 _, F" @! V
0 n; ?; U) D4 g1 S ) f# `1 y% G0 k2 ?8 K4 rFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected., s* u I* j5 f
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2 g/ l4 `( I% ]0 S+ \3 g. q$ s! T8 {0 ^% I March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 2 X, a+ o* t$ ^: ?; K. z
) ]/ I: H! n2 l% ^ x3 V/ E' |& \; ?& B . V! o0 ~% |% B; D7 O3 S( e5 S) v, P* O0 SThe Expat Exodus 1 a8 t+ X; ]1 A8 J9 I
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. . H5 ~5 I5 u: r& [. A ; R3 Y& ~! M* D; [; J7 @8 O- V
' t! d/ _/ n5 I3 Y- o. Q. E) S0 Q% f/ e Emigration 5 I4 W* i5 ]4 P0 Z- L3 w, M# O
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 5 P9 w6 j+ T' p ! [3 o6 V: ], B5 j% Z3 h$ b 7 q2 H0 `' B5 E
《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。: E9 d( q3 D" L" M* ]5 b- [. n
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《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。; V, d# \4 z- F( d* e, c: \4 n3 @
9 x" H9 f3 ?2 C作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
. {1 @) u5 K# t2 w The People's Liberation Army 0 g L. t2 c. D
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. 3 E4 W& y; b' y8 T 6 F5 U+ ^1 Q; D. Q! |. U. P8 E3 l* u4 h) n$ Z% i) w, g # r0 w0 Z9 S/ S Z* `
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. 8 y6 V2 r$ u$ `$ e- _. c; D. w% h, A( s6 q( P
) r6 w t* e7 z5 W) k( ~# e1 ` + O& x- l" [2 Z) M2 W& u+ \! PMilton 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. ; k) e9 u, r D- I+ I- ^4 `; g0 d9 ^: q; D) _
& n: f9 Y9 z, f- n! p o0 A . q6 L; f" j: \2 x8 A) y9 _2 a- n1 W0 [With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. & L# H2 I- j: H 4 h: ?! i# @4 q" { ! v3 J% ~* ?" @Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 1 o$ c1 {/ U" R" E" N9 e4 O3 i; n# M1 K
1 Y4 b( ~5 ?& v& C * O6 y' ^1 j7 f5 e' w; T/ G ; j2 q" p, G! W+ f( ~7 u& IContrary 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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