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。% u% ?8 ] m; G. c$ {
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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。; X; M4 `6 [( n" W
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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。4 _9 k, A1 a7 |. s( ^( Q
$ O6 X3 q" l, g; q% O . [* D8 v" r( X( I" I7 ]July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. U) B! K& x& q% T( c: m" D( Q- L4 ]" b4 ] 7 E% W# ^2 w" N1 `- R: t) D4 _ 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.6 Y7 Y- T& ^$ U8 B( t
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0 e; M7 c0 E- `! Z $ P& h" o9 ]( x March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. % q1 u; _" M4 B4 s
9 L2 ? A7 R( R/ `* p" P2 @( D; A* ^; N9 [% @ {3 F" C* e The Expat Exodus # x( h; ?: q/ o/ A. i) |# pOn 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. % K5 }4 g2 L$ E6 A9 w# J / P0 e1 Y; ?! p
8 E, [8 t ~0 J1 A0 r$ Z * e: V2 X7 D7 d7 C7 zEmigration ) l" L _' x8 qJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 5 V5 Q" W0 ~. Q) G
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+ O5 p2 B/ @; |* Z( `, R; v* [$ A# 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。 . I& V& q$ t5 m2 o 0 v1 D9 W4 R! @# ~$ o
《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。* h( P3 e3 t$ H, W
$ _$ ]; k% T9 j" L: Z* Z 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
, }; r) v2 N2 F$ W. g The People's Liberation Army Q- F" n! O/ @# iA 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. R" I$ Q0 V( N! ]/ ?4 V3 J8 ?
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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. & t* s, ]5 @ M3 t6 M- U1 i' T
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/ `! h3 B# L5 ~8 Z2 _. V: A 9 Y& J6 @8 N7 [6 U: y' S4 ZMilton 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. ; R! V, ~9 |2 {7 T
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: I# s& x4 j& M9 u: f, V 9 ]+ |2 f) @! eWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover." }0 @! u9 P* V) X
0 b4 O8 c( J0 O0 ^ ! v0 X/ W! n3 dHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. & n$ `. D R. h/ A" w# C5 `; a3 U
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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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