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。 4 W( B/ Z Q* }9 C9 `" {* ` . ]) G, T/ l. C- b , F. N8 F0 Q( Y' M1 U4 |* u9 U5 `- D* Q3 p
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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。 ! b2 O) g5 z0 j 4 y8 _0 f/ C& U. }; ?: d 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。9 q" f+ g0 k3 c. w# ^9 }1 b: l! `- t
" B- w0 R# v& V3 ^/ N( b8 x0 x : n! G. M/ M8 M: T3 cJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. ( o3 B1 ~+ S+ ?/ |) Q% i7 h) Q, W6 c- h* ~/ o) r. M& z & m' r. I3 T g) l( AFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.+ y0 T& Q/ v5 W& T7 D) p
3 n, S$ v) F) I, j0 Z% o Y: d' U K3 i+ Z 3 y* ^( `& Y8 A/ i8 W% y( s! wMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ' D/ ^7 A$ P" j$ g; @0 T# h: o# ~6 v+ `) ^ 0 o( J( s' s% M$ s8 A1 M* nThe Expat Exodus t$ [; A, |9 }! k9 Y- s
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. ( D5 w D d$ e4 W
7 s; T- V' M- l 5 ?) ]( u" v! b8 ?% R+ B4 q; F + i# w) u+ ]: T8 d/ _& x Emigration 4 c6 N0 t9 B* \6 J7 s0 @Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 7 s- x# [. ~% H7 X: L8 E* j6 | 8 ^1 n+ x! D, o0 N3 X
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《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。0 ]* t6 ~2 A/ B9 F
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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。& u# V0 l2 S- u. B- a4 b3 l* ~
, d& S6 ]. v" v8 G0 M6 O 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
1 s2 a7 `4 c2 m4 X6 SThe People's Liberation Army ) q4 J: S% E5 o; J( r B7 _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. 3 y, z* g. a/ ~- G 5 _* U: z/ ~5 S5 r4 E2 d9 H0 p, g$ f+ W) F9 u! a' Q/ } $ `7 B* o& B/ v: w9 ]; m0 {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. 3 r5 x i' k& C3 b2 \
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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. ( m$ h# x( Q8 F " z5 V3 p, g* Q( Q' _ - G: C Y% Y: d+ U* I ! h% e" m- r& H, i. I& MWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. I! O$ A* v# D5 U9 D) C4 x
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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. / T$ @, P: T$ g' p) Y0 q& T! z) |! J
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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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