; ^' c- [4 z" }- V" Z 5 N: A& _, @8 W% K2 R3 K- [July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 3 F' ^5 |" d, e5 t& x3 G$ I( l! r: J2 B( f" J9 G* p& j9 O1 T 8 P7 X' s' S0 M9 e& e. B9 w& P- hFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.- ]- c: V' _* T+ y9 _% k
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( e$ c- ^9 ~- C$ C; [8 t2 l : C" @& C# d! VMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. V# u" ?& o7 i B8 N f9 b
% |# q% [3 e. m) d + Q' w8 H& s* \7 e; k The Expat Exodus * f+ }) t6 u% ^& Q- VOn 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. $ o6 y+ X- ]; P9 I6 ?
% o& ?8 O5 y: u/ D$ s 2 p. _6 S1 Y+ C, c5 N ! x) y4 y! r" I, eEmigration 9 d, z5 K1 n! M0 c' VJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. : u U7 A2 r1 b+ C: _9 \ 1 Q/ k% ^$ E$ s6 U / Q/ ?9 e+ |" G# }
《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。! P, y# L1 U- \) y7 C' G q8 k3 h; V4 B( y
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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。 & _- Z, |; H! s( K # L& W* ^# Y d! M: X; w 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
/ W7 I' V5 Y0 P; I. ]0 gThe People's Liberation Army 2 a% Z$ v( Q7 B* e5 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. ' H$ V" c9 b( x) u0 v8 m6 b9 x1 q5 U( `
% r2 b* m# S& _0 I# @4 B* k - x4 `* @0 K9 S9 O0 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. 8 U+ u! O. D% b @
, D8 I2 ]2 K8 e( b& d# P3 t- C9 S6 J, U: ~ k) Q2 ~1 k7 ~$ r y- AMilton 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. ' a" l9 F4 l( E9 J
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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. E( F6 \0 N7 _5 @ Q* Q$ ^1 M% j( i" V& t9 D 2 W D( B/ o' ~% ]) ZHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. * N) E8 W' t T) F& w% O0 t% W/ Z: k7 p
" L* F7 k+ m( q6 X 9 W3 p( z! D( P3 K# QContrary 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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