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。0 I# e. F n% n4 t
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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。 . }$ }7 O1 m5 I / Q7 j9 D$ N& 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。 k7 n- R: Q+ T) s6 ~2 R
5 x& h# u1 s5 D2 V: J1 T: c4 O* I) S. A; t July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. , X/ x G3 ^7 \0 p3 y8 E : ~& X: W1 d- o# l; q n; K6 ^+ d/ L0 V! C! ^+ p) W1 _ Feb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.3 P+ l# v+ g9 {) `
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+ n( T9 q3 R$ Q* ~4 p1 c5 z ) K4 {- z8 A6 J" ? zMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. # X# c' U( A s$ Q " i8 ?* }& Y% y # o# \1 g% e- _2 C* }+ ^The Expat Exodus ' }; a" T/ [& D: ~# [8 v' v7 L& X
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. 4 s$ R7 y O2 s, m
F) K4 o. W& R! x' F9 t, R : R9 q7 ^) O3 \ 2 X; D' m, I. [ j. eEmigration / E4 j4 ]" X9 b6 IJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 0 @5 y7 C* n; @ . E# g4 T7 f4 J& P+ M: x 1 _% b4 ^( x7 |: N c" n
《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。" @% J# `5 @2 S8 Y/ A Y( P' b* D
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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。 X# W! ?! X) R& `3 W! I: w% S
9 ?, X" U* B( W* d& i6 |: V c3 e 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
' v: n- w J' F7 @; i# O6 }$ SThe People's Liberation Army 4 J& S4 D$ e: e+ }; s$ ?
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. 5 N& L5 C9 ]% x, g1 V$ g. |+ ?
# d `0 E$ \6 W' w 0 ^2 g+ h% j6 p. q- e7 gVictoria 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. c( v0 p7 c/ y' C
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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. V+ _ R/ ^7 u1 Q7 y, T, E; ^- d; a% n E e6 y; H
/ L( l- r; \5 {6 s4 z, l & X* z0 r3 g% n! RWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.1 o% I* u; D1 L8 e
/ R/ _$ B# e! L1 ?2 O" \ 0 f$ O5 C3 p- U6 j# J5 R# U, KHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 3 d0 |- n$ z) Q 8 \' s) m! L& w+ Y6 t& k# C 5 L8 p, W+ U2 n! A& m & R: ~" v1 y' G4 y. X6 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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