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。/ l5 g: ~; w+ M ?& {
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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。, K0 _& y) q+ k! V; e
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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。( {* k% B/ n1 t' X: \( a7 K% d
- e$ b& k5 K) R- V# k. \* @4 P" I8 L 7 Q, s! Q8 }/ g& Q3 yJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong./ M+ E! {/ |; ^
* I2 l& Q3 ^; {. {4 Z3 R 2 W4 d* S0 @6 uFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 5 d: {6 k: p% I& ^ 9 q( A9 H t( H* U+ a' O) ` ' z/ W5 j+ i" i , |& r) H v& \. y# d% s) n7 ~March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ?% T! h8 m( w0 D! A; u$ T
: A; Z6 j! G; K9 B% f2 ]' A2 Z# f$ V2 K; N' N The Expat Exodus # ]5 y& u9 d: M/ C
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. : F6 f f' |4 _# W5 D! |
. I$ m( S" H% r% d6 I, ] H Z5 N4 w4 i* B; T* m : H3 N& n9 F0 G& F6 C S$ i1 u3 }Emigration 1 d; A/ {1 W6 b) }+ A0 n8 Y8 dJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. : U7 ~2 D* _+ E2 q) U9 V ; }6 l2 G3 {. S. c" P$ J9 s5 l # M% F! U8 z1 i- E E* k 《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。 ) x3 G4 H$ p% E$ w9 e0 E ! M8 _3 l" M8 J' y% 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。 {" q2 h4 q# e5 U+ s" m6 i- x0 S ) p2 z8 S0 q# M4 J& ^8 l# m作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
0 S# i& f. S! }- q, e$ sThe People's Liberation Army # \, u( h4 ~# w) g' OA 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. 0 M/ f! }, M) E5 H8 r . `8 ?% H \& a) J, G' o4 F r( g0 h( Y' M( r 2 n) s, [& }' O
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. 6 k' D; \2 {1 |8 J1 x
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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, b1 t9 y' l' g9 L' z) P3 E+ ]+ {
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* G8 A: V! H( H0 j2 Z* ` . ~7 d) q! n; y% _$ AWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. " f& i- J) M3 t1 m3 {/ |" m% @- q: m! r6 s) h. X . n( h5 s, ?9 {' p8 S! f7 Q4 PHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. / ^! a9 ^0 s$ e; @, g$ J. I! K
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3 [ _* s6 k, E0 A7 i4 l6 Z* F( V 6 _# D- r y4 P# S' U9 EContrary 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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