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。 . R, o2 q+ {+ N) _* H / |4 l* `* h( k8 _9 r b 9 s- @0 ~5 Q/ w# [0 Y% \3 x3 P/ [; @: b) R5 I
: V0 V, h% @1 H' R7 q: {% t 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。 ( t- I7 m& n9 T2 ~# x , {* r, U. u [4 W7 I
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。 3 T5 O. O& k% Y+ G5 @ - z- {0 Q5 y) o7 K4 j 1 K) H+ V+ b ^% s |! XJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.. n; ^& {* w3 o
4 D6 j# m4 W( T 8 A. k2 B: v$ v: T+ A& t 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. ! A; w, O. u, `7 O2 a7 P 8 k9 n* G4 m" y: Z" D3 F# `9 }# Z. B z5 h) @# w. _, O # m& J) c4 A: Y March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 8 U. u, Z7 l8 l$ h; D) u: S) d7 T) s6 B, q $ }7 r! h a7 u0 e2 U* p+ OThe Expat Exodus - y0 k- k/ |- s/ a- i$ s0 L3 VOn 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. & T8 Z6 v1 A+ X; s* p * G4 u$ i/ ~# u2 w2 ]1 u( l" f9 u
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. f, e0 k$ o6 | & q8 O8 s) }# f
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《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。 z9 R( B7 f9 @ H' I; B6 @ 8 a. E% D: J4 b* b; P% y
《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。 ( w5 P/ q- M1 W ) s: G$ \3 ^7 Z4 \, _6 E9 a 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
7 e' ~+ X* v T( RThe People's Liberation Army , V. \0 N% g: ~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. : d# P% j4 ~! o; F
7 C8 g3 ?* G% f& E! S 5 @) v" e& h2 ^% O# n 0 p/ \2 Z' t' G9 `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. + O! S5 x7 s. t& Y
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9 B+ G5 a2 {) u; E$ |8 U, i & y# Y6 l, F$ J6 p2 ^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. 0 L- c3 @4 N1 \% S- t) I) K
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+ e2 y6 O3 H) n4 `5 ?3 _ ?# \ 8 h1 d+ N$ ~1 QWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. . c X6 e! G' d 3 {+ B" c/ \( |' _ & {0 ], }9 P- P: v3 l; \% P/ uHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. , \( `7 @# S3 a8 ~ ) u) L, `3 p) A# ?& |, Y* ~6 Z4 h: J, o/ t/ x* {3 T$ g 6 U3 o+ m( _* h9 yContrary 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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