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。 5 w" W3 O9 C. M; _+ Q0 H 8 n. @* e( C8 J1 V/ e : q7 O. |+ j. n, y Q. n) M+ G! K) V+ d: N
2 v; v/ t. S7 S# ]: Q 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; ]! ?. X+ K$ m9 Y, }0 a8 b0 m+ {3 B % V- @8 I; M. v, C: b 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。* A- G& a8 U: O& |5 e* J/ S" i
$ D* m2 H& z0 W5 B ' W) i$ e1 K0 n/ K. HJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 7 I+ x4 x' C& X: I! n7 C% M/ A1 a ( p/ `! \- ~) o3 f T/ V/ H" v1 l7 h9 h! n4 [9 r$ m0 WFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. N/ [9 Z$ L# V8 X
' D* [0 ]4 [( z& l: O/ R & ]6 C: v6 E. _% ^2 B6 m" K & `2 B/ L) b2 T. L8 B: Y g% _- vMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. & I& [7 ^( M5 v" e- E8 V, U* K$ |2 }+ G, @( D0 B % f) ?9 F0 f3 q. d9 t The Expat Exodus 7 W* X r% H8 M" U* XOn 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. 4 `2 ~ q+ X4 h6 K
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: E9 `4 F/ y. c8 ?0 a3 Q: b" D9 q 9 \/ z$ Y5 T2 J$ hEmigration 4 B9 O( Y' X' c
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. : L. w6 T6 N# z5 e8 y& G( u$ U: O
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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。. o) c7 t1 b3 v! h
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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。# `& I4 ~4 l: h! a1 J% {. |) T3 a
, t8 C: ^$ T# u作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
. G8 y% q2 g1 w The People's Liberation Army " j( o' f3 Q" R$ l4 x) i7 i* Z
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. 7 ]+ H% |, a& x6 O, W% K; A3 V" M( ?
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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. S- \" u/ w/ @# S. r0 f7 g% s# z1 f# _0 q( o
^" O1 j0 i7 A! p( y 3 R! |! b8 a! W4 t" Z6 VMilton 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. 0 l/ N$ {8 q3 X4 Z # M, g, X2 O; }8 w& q/ U( R u! A, c3 x0 w" |' v) A/ |# b + _& `' E) ^2 S4 ~8 `. ~
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.) {+ W9 i) p6 w: I [" F( c
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Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. $ w- Q3 I$ Y. {6 {( v6 v. r7 l% c+ b& q
% c2 Y" R+ b: f: D* Y9 K* U' j$ l + Q( ?: n0 V0 U7 ?/ \2 z 9 K. q" ]( b" |) t# 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.
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