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。 . g( }$ H3 F! p% B9 a' F/ W" M- [: r ; s8 L w* F" J Z6 d " O' y5 V. P6 f! f : ?" q# ^ F0 y' C$ Z/ |* T , B* T4 h* K" \3 D: s( s) @ 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。 $ u1 q" A7 z; [6 }/ e4 Q; O( y* H6 G $ J3 u9 I2 }6 n# E! X) 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。 ; G ?: l& d! H% K% N: H8 _8 L ( K/ u; P: Q+ a& N3 h) M, I- j. D2 s U3 ^$ W; h+ W July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.& R6 a( `4 p% S/ b/ [
' C9 S) x& C( f+ m: r & A% S8 Y5 N# t ZFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. / u* K# @2 u S. | 6 g, C* [( N. V. E. M; J+ i4 I1 R+ j! D; g7 M ; g, ]4 z3 Y, O! J9 a( \8 A ?March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 1 U0 ~! @' ~$ V& \7 p) N# }& `1 Y. ?) b7 ] + _; ]. N* P _2 b/ [6 g The Expat Exodus / f/ a- A- c; r" o$ ]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. 0 Z7 B2 X- z' j+ J0 V 6 n; E6 \" n I1 P$ t- i
, C1 }; K2 G5 J0 @6 a* F ]% Y+ h$ h ; ]6 X5 R$ U: S0 Y+ P$ b. G: lEmigration ]( U0 A6 n# d7 x, ^Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. $ N' ?0 h# l; ]
9 S$ h, N' I# d5 q6 ~$ }) J 1 f* {& i1 \6 L I" ]3 M& O' \ 《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。 $ _4 O; _$ }+ y P6 y3 }% J& G" |# m* h1 c 《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。4 F5 }- A$ ]" G Z
; J0 K/ g. H+ {7 m1 d 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
+ C. n# l5 R0 n( B' v The People's Liberation Army 3 f' D6 U5 ^9 r9 k$ E- B
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 ?$ ^, A, d+ _1 O- `. J 4 I8 L# J6 p1 o0 W$ f. M ( P. P6 ~# W2 ?3 G. r 2 a& {1 E$ o! n+ A3 j/ F3 LVictoria 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. 1 R$ M) }' Z& K1 U' ~1 l: Q- c3 n4 V0 Y+ b$ [6 s; u
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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. 2 q0 f6 z/ o5 }# ^4 p5 g2 o& F
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& _( J4 E7 l R R ) W( S1 G! d2 M8 D8 X( XWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.5 `) S5 Z& a2 ]1 _
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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. & K" `+ G" d- }0 f& z; |: C, i1 ^/ r1 @0 M7 K+ h
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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.
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