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。* B9 y( W- c" B
& I" U$ S& d8 F5 s. l$ h1 v& o" m ) `, i+ u2 j0 K+ I 9 \% \' b ]3 }+ ?4 J9 Y# `% P ' f9 u: i6 w, D7 ^2 d6 _ 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。 3 y8 T: g: l0 l( \: F- ~$ { 7 z! Y* N: j& M1 T
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。 ( M f2 W, Z! H ! v- |! B5 V' F+ V 2 |5 f; k( y$ x8 X& z) K2 o July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong./ X7 A- h( L$ Z3 U8 V
7 \5 H" ~, R- Z1 Y / @6 q3 l7 U* RFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.7 @5 e4 T5 k% i( r' L+ _' I
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$ M! `5 f) E' M3 h& ^ % P' e8 Z0 u; T3 I* c" oMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. : K* A8 Z% A1 W0 G: ]9 J. r( |) O+ ? E x / Q" A8 E* h! ?$ I! ]$ `/ R1 I2 kThe Expat Exodus ! M- z' m- b0 d% r3 b
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. ; ~1 X$ w, a2 }
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 1 y4 a1 z" l q9 g( r
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# O' }2 {- d; T 《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。9 u8 O2 E$ n4 p# O/ r0 y# W( u# ?! W; i
- {$ C. F- b. `$ n& a4 o! P 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
: P5 H" ~" B" p: j! E+ p" n- f The People's Liberation Army . u- Z, R. O7 o7 MA 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. 6 @2 T, Y* I9 X0 E n. W
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4 C- ?4 h3 U& A0 j ) d- E. I, M% q1 pVictoria 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+ P* ?! I7 {% T7 G# @$ g4 g _. w
% B$ ]* P% M1 M+ F7 W " p( \7 |% d' s3 k, m1 kMilton 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. ; c9 T f4 y5 F; F. ^) X5 f
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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. . p& k5 o1 X: a" R7 S. T/ k, u; Z/ l+ D 3 _$ b% @8 E' n" m
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. . ^ @# r# ]" h2 Y; _* Y: j0 v# B' E$ `7 x3 {4 E; A- x
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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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