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。 * T. Z/ ^, b/ r8 A ' P& K, }, D0 f - a1 n7 _) {; ?0 L' ? 1 n2 g j# O6 V, `0 M3 P4 R! `/ @; g - Z: v: }" ]" y# P6 Y 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。, b+ T" O$ t2 x3 H1 L
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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 N8 v- v4 a) |: d z+ H1 H9 ~* ~5 ]8 I& A % N( ~6 w3 S$ {9 \ July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.% l- C; b) f$ G! J) S
4 H, r5 K) y6 X- V7 n+ [ 0 P. _5 d# R9 lFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.9 z* R1 R8 a. f3 w# k Q; \/ S
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. j& |: F6 C7 f% }/ z1 C- E. l 0 Y& M5 g% y @9 s" iMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 0 K/ `6 ^9 \' j 6 x6 M- \9 g2 ~- X9 q& a; F' G: q H, l' n% z h The Expat Exodus * J5 e) B) j/ J3 ~: |1 G
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. 5 u9 ]: M" h* V" z3 t- \ Y . z# `, i% h% _; @
3 C4 q8 x9 ~, t/ f7 p0 V% [! y / U! T, o- j. p0 i0 I+ O Emigration ; ]9 Q- m/ K# z+ \4 x( F7 yJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ' }$ G# z' G, D " G4 C; Q. @2 k' U9 a3 V 1 z1 {: U+ m, T8 C) I+ k
《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。& J( w- @, B; M0 b
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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。2 O* s: v4 _5 Y( v2 }
- C" _* ~ ^, f0 E 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
2 F: V/ {# p) D& l4 M8 w6 Y The People's Liberation Army 6 I2 `7 v I' a3 c# q2 }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. 6 V9 X \3 Z* N6 W, ^0 s P( p) I, r x' z
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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. 6 [4 A! M# S' v5 }6 i : [: S9 z( c D9 ?+ K& p0 r' ^+ e( l* H9 S9 O0 a # \+ {: Z. Z; V9 N2 a
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. 2 }9 f4 z! u6 G3 F0 U: ?3 X" B1 j$ L5 R# c3 U' P4 ?$ b
2 i7 r! B# c' b) q8 ? G & ?' p! P1 {' T' i6 ~9 C3 g- BWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 6 m% @/ {! W( V( Z( k! B& A& ^. \: W5 H9 h; A : F/ _, M( G4 ^/ ~; o$ y
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 3 Y1 w; ~1 G8 ]/ s' q
8 F" H1 T: r7 M5 H6 k7 j 0 @ q& ]/ F) W( P / H; F( ^- H* N: x0 PContrary 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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