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。 % T* T: Z0 u$ m: f5 d) [/ _& P& M 1 [3 n3 s f' i $ r# z6 g7 ` t# D* H' z' x: ^6 I+ D4 t, H8 S
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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。 ( g9 B1 m q, M U5 h+ o( ]1 Z ! m* A. @9 w6 z
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。 2 d$ Y6 @; Z: J! V5 y- d) \& g * l) y2 P! P8 J7 a, J . G$ h8 a/ x; Q& ^# P9 HJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.$ k% ?8 u* V) H+ ^9 a$ z
0 {3 W' D/ r1 H! y 9 ^# w- w/ M f& @4 c$ 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. . r5 ~$ K5 R8 |7 ?' i# ]$ H; F ' k8 U6 b6 s& F0 Q + H* ?% F- V( P# [ " q3 y4 e: h/ ], O( N& {- ?& YMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 7 V; G; F- i9 `! N& z; @" g1 c# h. [" k% j 3 T% p. \4 M% d2 @) V) jThe Expat Exodus % @: B% M* G) E& |6 Q @. c8 G% O
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. * q3 h7 m- k& q2 ]- T" q: Z6 r' ~
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. # P7 F/ O5 [+ y9 w4 a7 H 3 Q) v' ?9 K9 [2 ^
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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。 ) E% U- u% h- q: S3 F $ c) a1 O' [$ [" L. b1 X
《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。 4 v: ]2 v* ~% D" P A " ]4 m/ I# C/ [* G3 E! P! B作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
/ z0 D! h3 [/ K0 Y! R% J+ [The People's Liberation Army * w2 a0 c# d& {% nA 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. : x- e( K9 q9 H0 v
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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. ' o" L% v4 P- M2 H8 ]2 H2 J1 }
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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. ' b1 U- L5 S* K8 I+ @3 F 0 H- |. n. y2 B' I$ o6 N 6 T& C, R. g8 ^" ?% Q + u3 ~7 [0 ]* {" iWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. # [) k) E* Z% d% D7 p# n6 U r( N' ~& F4 p7 U% x) \ / E/ T& L' ?( |5 C5 E( D
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 9 D- B% a! M; O! j
2 E& F* B6 S5 h0 I% d6 c9 n. w- v; I8 W p* j& a4 s 1 V) W; i/ ]7 T+ {) G8 K, P3 cContrary 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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