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。 . B8 b6 C( H$ S6 B3 P7 a9 y * {6 D& F& S0 ]6 O & v7 ~* D2 i, F& e! B
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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。7 v; J% r) v/ ?, ?# Y
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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。 : p& v; k/ b. V9 A ; K* `7 |) B, Z4 v; g & e/ Y$ `( D# q; c+ [July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 9 f; y+ ^/ X" @. G! ]! \) g. M9 c, r3 V; M5 e7 p 8 x. z) I5 j2 e4 F5 `# E 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. ) W! X( c9 o: A' W7 ]; @' X: a3 `) p$ ~8 x
8 @1 x) d: a+ A! \3 g0 m6 a- Q 3 t0 I9 E6 J( C+ aMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 5 j, p \5 H/ O0 Y ' x g, B1 f( S# t * D* O. v" q4 ?$ H2 LThe Expat Exodus " w. v" Y, e4 ^; SOn 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. * O3 V M4 h+ V% R! O5 I* }! b 0 ?3 D! H: G0 |0 ^
4 V0 R4 P4 F( q, A: k8 c$ Y% J* U. H \0 v$ ^" K+ I8 ^ Emigration 0 v( N2 C$ ~/ @3 s: ^Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 0 O0 F$ x( Z% C$ K$ E- N$ P4 n
* P) ? E' n" }( L) Z $ [- _- e/ w; l) m' r( [( Y( _ 《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) ~9 f! b+ }+ m6 W1 ~% q
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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。 ' b2 _. T4 ]3 U+ o* A! E' _+ ]' t / y2 f6 G8 ` B8 ]0 v- G 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
( l) E- @) e3 Y- CThe People's Liberation Army 2 ] ^' p7 s S& U jA 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. 2 U. W9 V$ |5 u& u4 j6 d! T ; [$ I j7 B$ f) }% z4 _4 Q8 G " j; o; D5 }! v7 h: @$ L; JVictoria 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. ! c; F3 ?% P# s* ^! [$ Q$ j3 n$ f
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. V# f" F$ J0 t4 Q 8 W8 Q% t0 b$ g' u; pMilton 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. ! A' ?+ J a0 O8 k & J& b r) e8 n5 S ( d4 l/ U; V$ p+ I; H: O5 O- h& i % s0 d, o2 `' o( yWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.3 ?0 X* H; Q6 }, l" W+ F
* b. u, d- c; H3 @/ ^ 3 t. a. r3 d8 }3 n( E, jHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 0 F2 }" j+ v3 J& A, A- G" ~
h1 S& U; a# N4 i! h% } 7 S8 j- G) D& g: e. u , [- _! T! ]2 @% k: n0 W! MContrary 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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