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。& I$ Y3 I, h! d
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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。 : e9 n5 z' F% u; X n" | # c, h: |) t+ v+ V! {
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。 5 a3 w" Y" y9 T3 ~; z $ b3 ]& j! O" X: p# m9 Z 6 |, p" u" |+ c% mJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 2 h- @+ {1 r4 b 5 H% J$ x7 q" r' d2 `- ]8 F1 J2 { ' T& J! q7 n: z Y. v2 X$ g3 EFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. * x9 v+ Q( J5 x7 e o9 `4 @6 W2 B0 w' V) R* P2 L+ Z
+ N5 y! \/ K+ q 0 I- N# [$ b8 ^0 y& [& ` March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 4 E- N9 s+ b5 D- U5 }: w% U# d: N. k : N: w* @; ^/ v1 b" T2 e& L ( W% E' ^" T" Z9 H9 E2 KThe Expat Exodus 7 j1 U5 I. { Z/ 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. ( T6 H; O% t0 @1 l+ ]
`; Q z- S* I 9 l4 G! _3 l0 q. J- @2 g , P/ n6 h! t5 G/ B; HEmigration 6 f# }8 D }! e1 C1 \3 m! iJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 7 Q1 l6 S% E" p4 v: F8 Q4 K
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6 x- n t6 w; \; 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。 ( P2 p3 H, e: g- {) _7 k, ~ - ?( v5 B- z R
《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。( j. k1 g; n% Z+ F1 _) s
6 O7 M/ h. B3 H6 ~/ s5 }2 [ 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
" C" c- V% P I, c- n7 [The People's Liberation Army ( l: j* S: S( J! l
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. , p) v2 n- K2 D' m" _
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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. * \! W3 u+ E% V# b
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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. . q# y4 N. O! x) [7 a
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! ^; r Q5 R. `1 f, ?+ t$ p! y( A1 c 5 v* F( U4 F5 p1 r4 J) C; OWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.! D; X. F$ E9 w+ |
* V$ c/ u: \7 k& A9 U( K) x # E, B( T1 O2 Q8 @) V8 C8 wHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ) p; g% F; o* H t( w
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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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