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。# ?. S6 ^) ?$ b1 U
" W ^6 N; R9 U# H' f ! ` p8 l- J2 f2 Q, y2 k2 q + l# j, y! X/ O t( F1 x 7 z4 [1 E5 P3 `1 @. B 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。 o7 r$ u4 _6 t7 _' X( {3 K" A 7 ^; K, o" k; _1 e( F% Z 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。. L% D) y( ^$ r" L9 f
; x5 |, U0 Y$ ~' u U1 W' E$ G5 T1 E: F6 N July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.+ N5 X4 {) D C
0 c$ M* S! |: W f% q # J; E6 }7 B+ C& R; C( [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. * h; C( [/ `% y% m' H5 p1 |4 ~' j; Q- _( m6 A& j: P, U# _) _
3 d9 x, j" {8 x% W% F' k ; ~( _) Z* r4 R$ g- L March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 8 D4 ]) ]; [# e) k& X# m. S& P1 n : d! ]& g5 |. g' ^6 A . R8 t" n G E& l: K4 t& H7 L/ m/ e+ nThe Expat Exodus ; A3 m6 D' W3 x$ f9 x7 x/ TOn 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. 1 ?! U% @# E- f7 d+ X& z' r 6 |3 O9 Z6 y2 _- k4 ^+ i7 M
( X! y" u3 u: K7 X8 n1 O ) N4 V) I) N7 i$ T/ V$ l+ _: HEmigration ( v4 w' d a% w& S" W6 VJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. - K0 {7 @0 J7 s" z% L2 e ; _- ~ g5 R) c
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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。- ?5 w& H* n/ C! g+ u+ v
5 }$ w% { J7 N 《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。 % @+ f* K) O/ J- N1 z $ I3 L8 `( `" P 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
8 i4 J7 j0 C4 F: |) y# {The People's Liberation Army & v1 K! l2 J) u9 s8 ~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. 1 y( ~& B# Z9 U0 q; t0 x
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: [3 ?6 u& z$ F+ j 2 O$ H! B, H2 N6 @+ h& U4 `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. 1 u% B E, R: }
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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. 4 L G; N5 _+ o, I1 C4 u3 i6 y
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/ z ~/ A: s- I' f M. i ! ^. k! ~% c( a7 P. yWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. : x2 q" ]1 R# O' d/ D% R5 f% c8 a- D& O4 d) Y' T" X7 E$ Q ' H0 A l' ~- Y; p! uHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 8 p( C* t: l7 t9 {" m# P5 S ; v5 X6 d H: ?! G9 h' h* S! n, s; K+ j! x# [5 ^, S$ h: v( b 2 i- X3 m- Z1 O+ h+ |* V; z8 L# p
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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