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 J+ k& r) E9 m- r- T' V
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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。 % _1 Q4 R7 `8 f6 E3 N " k. M- @3 v. w" Z- V# }' K0 H d$ ~- L2 y) [ 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 f# v6 P) c, {) Y8 r. [% s 6 t; X% _' Q, O6 X* J& A & b2 M; {) t4 S. w0 |3 B A July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.) x2 A8 s1 \7 q8 n# |0 a3 F
, H0 A8 b9 V+ F 5 g5 h4 p, G" a' Z1 h8 `. J/ q& JFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.8 {6 ?* p: W* b
. Z' n1 s$ B3 z& J1 ~" Q+ Q9 h0 _5 |9 x& W8 ` * P" f1 M- b1 w1 }& |9 e# zMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. , R$ C V; \, T& n# u6 k) S# p
# ?1 J8 v+ V7 @+ ]% K0 ^! Y- L. o" v; Z1 `% d% l9 R The Expat Exodus $ W* A1 J4 v5 d; q& d7 d; LOn 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 i9 h( }- C2 r$ k3 D
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+ H. l4 d& u$ t! J! O3 ~) D, F! L3 n+ W& _9 U Emigration 8 h! T) g2 ?: zJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 4 ?, T; I; b* z+ g7 z7 @% g " U, a, j# Y, ]7 X! J
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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。0 o1 X' v Z {4 _) P
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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。) ]2 r X6 d( i1 Y7 b" Z* p
( p2 d' `. |$ i. n 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
" ]# M7 [8 L, i: Q! T0 P4 r* | IThe People's Liberation Army $ `3 V, A" L: u0 ~
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. ) A3 F8 [. a9 y0 N( H 5 J- f* ^! I. K4 x4 \' C y" |8 b. _! }: O( o $ y! R1 U' J& I* y! L/ m5 d2 n ^) bVictoria 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. 7 r; X' H: o- @, U |" c9 R2 r+ F$ R* j# x# F$ M6 `
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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. , i" j. Y3 L z* |( O, V1 @0 T# c& |% M6 p
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With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.- W+ N8 {& e4 d0 w& p
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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. 0 q8 ^1 ]/ z" a9 B
2 C( g( _; z' ]; o8 Q" ] 3 g( W3 Y/ L9 T" ]! {7 E9 _ 1 T. [& n: }0 ]1 h% @. l# 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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