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。 ' z% ~6 w" W' _$ H& Z ( [; i7 G/ p+ ~ + ?( z; b+ U0 ^- m5 I0 h6 J5 W7 F: F, t% c$ U: H9 T9 E- Q0 w# ?
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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。 ( @1 i5 h) ~+ K K9 B 2 t! |+ }$ Y K- \5 G 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。$ O* I# G/ T! K. d% X+ A( f# ~
& ]6 w+ g) Q" V0 B" L; } % O# V/ L( B s' \July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.; H5 D" w; O- y, |1 d( v
9 w' a W, H% O' j" u. s- G. E1 d9 } . E9 b& n& F0 c: A) ~( m 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. + {5 d9 R, H J8 a 5 V- l" Q4 Q4 O 3 F' @" c+ H7 O' J f4 y) D1 c( c! b3 @March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ' i; |7 q- ^$ T$ S: E. G # h. {( z# s( k: {! ~' | 3 s0 _ I* T% _" c1 ^9 C0 DThe Expat Exodus 3 d( l8 f$ G# C# p( ^ YOn 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. ) X0 c+ a+ p# v% D0 \$ t7 |) \ " U: [. }' @- A) U 3 H/ F- r. m) p' X, k5 } 0 R" S1 ]+ F& z3 _ I( wEmigration 4 E/ W3 f! C- P8 c
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 9 X/ N/ T9 u& D& a, l* H
/ Y" m2 ~+ \% M. s4 T! i : t( c) I( |& o7 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。 7 ^# F5 L1 k! S, A/ K* ~) | 2 \& X5 B/ g9 _( ~- 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。 3 y$ N2 L7 u5 p" B ' V) x1 Q1 I7 S, ^ 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
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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. ' }0 S$ S& @' ?4 q( Q7 a, f
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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. 6 E( R" X" |' t" Z3 @8 q# P6 S, g- _2 _& z( B& h
7 X7 P1 J' ?0 H4 | & Y. E; {# J' ~& c7 F n! L% Q& ~0 cMilton 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. - s& o# z9 q1 R* c; b( |) t& p+ R7 t) r( f( c1 S* s( h
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With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. % b7 w( X( ~ c! ]2 b5 U0 |, W/ x( u& j 0 I1 V3 y6 q' b' |1 I4 R
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 0 v" S/ D+ B; U4 A
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u4 u# Z# D# B J5 q5 L( p 7 X; Q1 y! S+ W& G; }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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