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。4 Z$ O' p6 c9 c' @1 L' T
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; @0 s( g) v" v) Q + Z. F3 r8 Y: E4 J( m 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。 $ j- b: _3 X% ] T0 | 2 v/ r* Q; ~. a" F
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。 ! J! c, y) J9 d + E3 q9 U0 H4 K; ?; y# h4 ~1 t7 ?: p& U5 g' w0 \ July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.6 V# ]1 _" x3 ~1 S1 L0 [. S! ~
) s( b* H* P4 T# C. ^6 W# C# g 7 x& H3 v1 K) F( Y7 h( h* u8 BFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 4 w2 Z9 B U# G , Q% {% m, C4 F- S6 Q 7 Y2 }# ] M' F, O3 S 6 E: I$ R3 Q O' B. LMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ) X5 r) S+ S% u, _0 g. E5 G0 u 9 n6 y4 S. T4 h; [ 5 P& | o+ x+ H% j9 |! r8 PThe Expat Exodus ' M. f9 E0 U# T( M4 N7 X2 BOn 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. ) D0 R/ x, s1 V, ^" s" L6 ~. `: T" R * v, p. q- ]8 V2 U5 {
0 W6 {$ w2 R8 Z9 |/ z , n. c" G- l' i: j& qEmigration ' [7 V% R3 {! B) l0 \+ J4 ~Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 8 s1 u5 K q; E8 o
. p5 ^& e8 u6 f+ w t / p F0 {# G5 M0 j 《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。 + t. _1 g! R7 E' j, J0 E 0 n% i& d0 J8 ?$ D 《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。- \* }6 z9 M+ Z2 Y9 n) J* [
8 T3 W4 {, k% p1 s作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
! @# [2 p6 G2 Q+ d! Q$ QThe People's Liberation Army 0 E( q( w% j) P) T- Y+ n0 X8 g3 B1 I
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. ' \ W. S, z0 Q7 j , c0 P. F( O" s" O6 x+ V1 ]4 H! M! {5 p7 X : g& a6 f% j6 V+ `4 \) D' p
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. , c/ W: ~3 P9 [0 G7 a# Y* |: C" x) E/ [6 S/ ~
9 [, k3 n6 o# f" K 6 |6 [: d7 H+ h# K) t! F. KMilton 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. - T3 i3 S% u. d( c5 }1 w
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* [; G% b( Q6 F/ y" o5 Y- q + e4 r, D& R( W2 ]2 a6 y2 {$ X0 u& @With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.2 [/ j3 F3 @: E' k/ t
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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. ' J# [* J$ q8 ]0 C9 j9 I( L7 @" k
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: V. ^+ Y0 F! s: g4 B* y" b $ R7 U+ s% N0 ]: aContrary 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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