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 h2 a p3 c+ ]# r
. b" `; L4 b" C9 `5 o3 }( Z ? ( H+ C) q- U3 @& z" | 8 U6 r9 Z; j0 `% ?- { 5 \1 q7 {- @! j4 V 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。 : V$ p( D6 t8 B: G& y + q4 ?4 y* S' h- w 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。" D) L3 \. ?8 k
) ?# R) a, T" u8 W 1 s1 N& v' N" d+ w July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.% B" p& T/ U4 S. V$ P( x+ x
+ n4 s" k( q( M: g; N. n 7 H9 ]+ c9 a& }5 n7 C/ e% R. z- dFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.3 u3 a9 x# L& z+ A: @; s
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; x/ [. c+ Q) ]' Y; [+ _1 z$ Z + r2 j. u X3 d2 L0 w3 j March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. % }5 o9 |( C( p4 q3 ~ 6 { }. i7 P" q( H. Q" x% ^3 a: t$ N( ?+ v/ f+ S& Z The Expat Exodus - H. c/ I* h. k2 ?# k, NOn 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. " l- N6 e6 w7 m, m: Q* Q/ O+ x4 D* ]
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ( h' z a( J# x& y: h; F' C8 ^+ C 1 r4 R3 B) s M' m5 P, s2 [+ Y / Q- C$ v( H6 C
《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。 ! `/ U+ ~+ _0 O# J! K* j0 K8 f " ~7 A( y4 Q& O' `: J( \4 c3 n' G 《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。 % n* p/ t$ Y4 E : m9 |! L# G! ~" O作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
9 |2 [- P- l( q I$ {/ D. NThe People's Liberation Army & o0 r" w; ]: |5 [. A
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. & c" M, _1 D9 M6 y0 G: q8 z4 x6 @, u" o' o6 p" x# i3 p
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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. 7 D% W) E# h, N R# K# T- d" u( @+ v$ }+ T" u) P) I; M
: N+ O2 h! {' Y4 @( y/ u8 t, F & N0 L! {2 y% p8 `, n7 aMilton 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. + O% b- q& ^" b) f; c7 w( A, |. g% @& t7 X
+ H9 ~; y1 F8 ]7 d 5 y* v3 h: L8 ^9 z: @$ GWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. * \0 P4 @& t( k3 @# Z # b) x3 X5 a# t5 A }4 y: g- M5 d, ]6 Q9 D/ ^# 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. ; H& P1 O$ S! g6 }9 {$ D& _ ) |/ z* F9 O* y5 q8 q( g4 k1 g / G# n7 c- Q# C , W' i6 v, d ?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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