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。 8 x5 u5 i5 v9 c& q8 E4 U + e$ s$ w7 z4 [+ y 0 f5 i( T2 Y, i v$ v' 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。 - `1 C5 D# u, Y1 I" `2 r0 T + u0 J5 K" i5 R8 O
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。 6 M" T$ R! v. D" D 8 p7 _7 y6 W E* r% ]! K7 `4 t' R! g7 n July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.3 q1 X8 d* p1 ]
9 N7 H! G6 W2 h+ |- f4 L: B. P! w; i, X3 s* [ 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. O% i, [' [8 i f( s, p4 T: O & v. A+ R A% X% h& s1 J' C9 c ( C% d4 l( e: R# l Y6 a5 T! {+ v1 C0 c/ S- V$ s March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. - N6 Q; w! c* c+ _8 D4 [7 F 6 t/ u& L w3 s8 P; B* |. R( m + I6 f1 }& j' d3 d3 B' w% q0 cThe Expat Exodus / a4 X% l. L, R% U' ^
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. : S/ ^( h7 I4 k5 F$ K G
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9 J9 H% S7 g2 F. J" N. c; [ 0 r0 L, p& {& v% J Emigration $ e' C# I! u# \/ |) J7 LJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 7 Y! c& b$ k( j7 R& X0 {
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& }% m# W( P6 V" u5 a: V2 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。 6 Y3 P9 ?7 x4 M3 i/ l' @7 n' n - @6 J& F1 f3 y) x& e! M
《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。; k7 J- t1 ~* Y0 D
) r b3 [8 F* W* }作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
4 z2 n) y1 T& l" kThe People's Liberation Army * g: K7 ?+ N5 D" p' u. V' s% Y; B
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. . I2 U. C; v- d8 |: M0 ]' u
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* v' S- E1 t; w7 b ) T5 i0 d0 ~# @4 {1 c- U) R$ CVictoria 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. # \) J# D$ j! ^; Z
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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. 2 E$ K6 K: _0 s3 U( u J& |
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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.6 K# l7 [, e+ |$ Q+ N6 z1 L0 @
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Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 1 w0 H8 B+ y( h9 f1 n
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6 }$ I- v6 T2 K0 V& v) W4 S ! n) B0 N( ?+ o0 ^' Q8 A( ?) uContrary 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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