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。/ x% V. w B& e; V* M) |
D e* G# B' l7 v$ Y# h * u6 _* L0 @2 H% G1 p , L$ C. b; x6 ^ 1 g3 x, @" |' q9 m; _/ m+ {( { 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。 " r# R( W8 A, N # R' w: Z3 ~3 o1 E% U+ H 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。 " }! Q; b7 v3 r2 d* U) N ' ~8 s# {0 R: E" }: g3 ~$ f( p" ?: K+ K( [$ \ July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 4 p% L$ ~# m7 R: v# b2 K% {/ f& L' c$ l" s % ~( e. `5 b4 {) e+ j, M- S: G3 q3 s1 O5 eFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.- _2 e6 V8 b( Q- K
/ V, H) U% p* L* M& J9 }2 R4 m! f" x/ A2 ~+ W. Z # Z3 B1 r" Z5 j9 \/ r March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. + z' Z2 b9 c- F* X: I
& Y/ k2 t" V3 u. ~8 @/ U4 r 9 M, y% H; Q" W$ H' S The Expat Exodus ) Y# {) z7 t/ JOn 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. 8 P5 E ?( p7 J% I& U$ F # y2 A' N3 b4 v+ `! z. @: a9 ?. T
/ z9 H- ~! p7 A: H- y4 U 9 k. r5 D* @0 A! Q8 a h$ `/ }Emigration . F' D% E, X- m6 v- N* gJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. * c. L0 @/ E, H$ t5 X
+ a, g8 d4 Q k7 g. `
1 j: S% p, M" T' E) B) V 《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。 & B3 C+ @9 L9 Z, I- ~8 l # Z M1 D& H0 O' c' m! i& t 《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。/ `, l; o$ N+ E0 A# X1 v3 K
. F$ @: F# n. f; C0 l' a( p 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
6 I% H8 I0 t( T9 p The People's Liberation Army 7 h ?9 r: X3 I" |5 n
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. : F& |7 `6 K, f! U" o" A1 T3 `
0 n( E/ o1 q7 b; T/ h- U7 x% d% t6 ~' a5 r6 l( A : n7 U6 f* d i# H: M% a- m2 hVictoria 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. 5 A9 O! P% I+ d! u7 Q- a
8 I* a: H a& W, d# K
6 R# y& p/ M! J* u8 G( g" R* P4 a / n0 P; U$ {* D4 I. L3 DMilton 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. 8 q' E: B! X8 R, ], u7 l
+ g' E3 ~9 G) G5 h$ \
' _9 `1 C. P8 w& T. F" D( v. I4 c3 Z; d
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.0 N( X' w6 c. d3 _6 Y0 ~( Q
3 C9 A2 m3 G% h ) |# a" \# \+ j- E( s1 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. " W: x$ \0 B7 l) G, v" {+ I) K" h
" y5 i6 T& k' ^7 l3 i* F% G # f% {8 t) P* s
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.
: g3 ~$ f( p" ?: K+ K( [$ \
# Z3 B1 r" Z5 j9 \/ r
9 M, y% H; Q" W$ H' S
6 I% H8 I0 t( T9 p
" D( v. I4 c3 Z; d
) |# a" \# \+ j- E( s1 m
# f% {8 t) P* s