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。/ g, X7 a- r! D; |1 V" N
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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。% P) o& a& ~1 \2 D9 W
_5 g0 Z5 t: U- s) S 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。 + Z9 Z2 n& Y$ r1 J6 V3 _5 V + S. J" Q# R! S & E% b0 z& U4 J$ y July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. . N: a2 j7 V% d3 @% l+ f) J% Q) {% s- e4 U! O! `* e; H ( N$ I5 U/ U; ]* q* V" NFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. $ ]/ k; m+ L0 @1 ?0 i1 L 7 W" n9 O4 _; f( L$ |" T& X% G( K s. ]! { 4 S; `7 v( w" `( c* n# NMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. , Q0 u D' S& z& H1 U) L
- t: Y/ z/ H$ Y* w: h1 c6 B7 @2 g The Expat Exodus I% h! w. t: q! K6 zOn 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 _! A9 s; n) p7 q3 Z4 h1 B5 `5 I
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& |5 U2 f: Z' m) O; `, S, y/ g) N0 L n1 Y3 w Emigration 5 K& Y3 n$ J) v% ] oJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 2 A3 b- p) C+ V1 y0 I6 e
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# n2 o6 J; h: n0 D 《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。 5 e8 l1 x, f! n4 m w3 i4 m / |) p8 u6 ~( O' k. ^- O [ 《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。 3 e, A% ^8 p8 q* V2 l0 E J 3 Q& f: G. W6 S: k6 z# B作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
6 R! B$ ~) g5 ~0 mThe People's Liberation Army " ^0 P, Q$ f+ X; @" y5 F6 t; bA 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. 9 x- n' q6 Y# G( [. R( u1 O
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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. 0 v* Q+ Z( ~2 o& e, Q0 w& `- o2 B% g
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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. + F9 [- w/ L& m- E
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% p; j+ k+ c$ N7 n$ \ - o" m+ L* g* ^( X+ w( uWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.* m. A. @- @$ j) o a
8 b z6 T/ w; |' T) Y0 N4 P9 w 1 B4 X& v& |: _6 G/ G, hHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 1 l/ L6 M4 u3 V3 h) Z# S: x
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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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