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。% b- |) q% ]$ B; H8 f; ^. r
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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。6 ~. O2 u1 K6 Q$ w6 |" b8 H7 k
' c4 z6 x* o# D! a- f) e 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。 * i" |1 d1 ]9 ]; @9 ~ ' ]. Q; Z" t4 I; `1 D5 B' [9 i * `/ O, o+ K4 ~4 D# S1 Z' dJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. " c8 C2 h4 J0 [9 F6 w # h9 f" u% t: k% ]& Z5 c+ w& y3 B$ L N8 i* R, U 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. Y/ G) O# j6 W& L8 p4 a6 w: f; ?; W
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0 I k T+ H5 }9 L4 N- l3 U " _ B" ^7 U I% U Q March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 2 @5 i6 H Y8 ~- B& j
z. I, I9 j% y; Z5 ]1 e, _ 7 Z- }+ u& q3 n The Expat Exodus 2 v! S+ g7 a5 p# Z0 g. t/ A
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. ( F7 k1 d: \4 }- o: \* x ( U2 }1 _2 m! c1 N( R
5 E0 O& q) U' s* }+ A: r/ W5 o5 J3 V, K: S' T Emigration 6 v9 k, H h( e2 k3 x; JJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. : }! [- o( c+ Y/ v3 G/ r6 w% Q : l5 H' [4 y) {! U, u$ E ! Q% B/ O0 P8 {+ p& K8 K0 p: s' H
《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。 ' D: }0 L, J# m6 u 8 y: A- B3 w) I! @7 ]+ L
《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。 t) Z$ E5 p b/ `% ?) i9 z& O $ A( E/ {, S, m作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
5 j, h- \; D0 {3 j. {The People's Liberation Army 5 s3 l$ Z' W4 J7 ?; AA 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 H9 s, D7 U, h& Z 3 s% v0 G; Z0 ^" E2 j3 ^( Q+ T & z+ E# t/ n z- C0 z4 U) W& b R1 {$ f# F7 ~
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. 4 M8 Q2 |4 L0 Y2 `3 R3 r# ~! H2 k8 |0 u3 [8 U% ?1 V
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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. 8 J" m4 f; m" \& _
- [' q2 g5 }9 M' q1 B4 L 6 P: X# M5 |$ B; P/ S 4 Q4 E' Z$ g5 \" H. u8 nWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 9 F+ r7 _9 |. M% r+ t4 z, j3 R& g8 n8 U, z1 c, ~* ? - V3 E1 T2 @2 b7 a7 UHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 6 }; z0 n* m1 ^2 F
! t0 S, p4 ]2 W$ d8 O' j, z4 c2 Z0 u, c) o 3 \( l2 }* D3 ]( L! vContrary 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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