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。7 F. r! R8 z* J! F, e
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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。4 c- M4 R1 p/ E& U; c' a" c5 m- {
* x9 ]5 ]& V# j 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。7 p' z% `! k" l
) }7 _" `; O; X0 v, ?; g 9 c$ v& U% _5 D& WJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 4 b a( ]3 Y. N4 G# J& Y1 u3 k4 s ( M r8 |. [' X& T/ H3 t# b" V2 b ; X6 |9 N3 L6 T' Z$ uFeb. 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" N, V* h! s0 p* G; i' B7 ^. M6 J
, F& @' ]2 k, h! B2 K S 3 ]8 n* O4 ^) u4 ^5 f March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. - Z6 h0 b; X" O7 M3 M6 l
. m# M; j3 R9 k0 U2 x3 P) K# p$ Y" B The Expat Exodus 5 \" B2 w# }# w( q d, d& V0 y6 rOn 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. 1 I* B* V: ^6 F, S6 z6 B) m
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. # U/ w; L% I" W
2 @: L) \0 G% v1 [: c 9 E( P$ L& m9 r, j N, c' 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。- F1 e/ [: d) e0 @$ m4 S. a
) m- o4 m ]) ` r- e 《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 D) I/ J2 p- G* c% X- j0 A ) {6 s k$ t! z1 Q 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
7 Y* X+ O! h/ H0 X: h The People's Liberation Army : w1 t7 J( V2 ^( h3 u
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. 4 l- C, h* B9 v3 Y7 {3 ^; b; S
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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. 2 b) U5 T8 k* ~. V" r
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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. " E1 A) S% Q, u2 I% _2 w Z
. _ W+ c7 d0 `! o5 f% E2 G& k, b Q; ~ : L% E3 H: P# {) ?6 E6 SWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.6 i) i A7 N( [. U/ ^
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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. 4 C. G; R( K9 L1 A; e- g# O% ^2 } f4 U4 r- G3 y2 k! j
! B' ^9 `: y) o/ V/ S- j ( Q- ~; b$ E- ]" v; `5 J2 gContrary 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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