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。, p! O1 |. K1 e# r+ h
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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。 / Y I6 D4 u& Z # c5 K; G& f5 f5 E& v$ w3 U1 N 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。- q, r ~) R, h5 ?) Y' O+ W- ]
% Y# F/ r0 }* z # I \ G% x" A$ ~July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. ' o9 @! z! h" d7 M: `# g. e ) U+ @+ n; ]" c+ |% X " _- n& _% ^ b% V- tFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 0 a# J5 P% w; K) y0 y0 @. m, L) M' l+ R5 L' n9 R$ ~# u' W8 x/ i
2 i" k. G! D0 `" X$ G 0 \2 L1 _3 m+ \+ t6 vMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 7 r1 g7 a5 O+ H8 ~+ s! d3 k
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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. $ P) @4 `' L: M9 Y8 |0 ]8 E- r
/ K4 p/ H5 g* O; \* @) w7 T! K 7 ~' E: K/ ~7 s' T+ E+ U 2 r; Y& g: W: Z4 Z% k& FEmigration # r0 o9 ]" w' J/ I1 U
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ( k% i9 K, |% T( u! d( n 1 [" G. Z3 c* K) R- a4 [8 `. e
7 H$ X: ]* w) U0 b 《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 |6 q6 p4 W. ?7 T
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《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。 p3 |5 j* c& R1 x, i+ ?
2 u' ~! p$ c8 O5 k } 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
4 d6 Q6 B! n. D) T p) t1 t The People's Liberation Army ' G5 }9 T- b& W( D
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. , Y& z9 i. z- d
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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. 3 I2 |, `8 k/ H' A, v9 p3 i L# a
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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. ' h3 l ]: l% A# E0 J& E9 m6 {! l! A4 m
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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. ' L( e3 I0 N4 D9 w) u; S2 V. Q& C$ A( U& v# S" A# e$ q" S 5 p2 U0 M2 l) m$ `8 kHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ' \6 c5 q8 `" L( X% Q. p% A/ [6 R ( x" u% ~) [6 W5 p8 F, d ! _& `6 G2 D9 v: h" P. N* A1 n3 i _! h2 c" x% N+ z
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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