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。5 F6 E G6 ?! ^0 C2 O9 y0 {
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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。. a# o+ f0 L' b7 ^# ]* L( M
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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。 ; {, y0 a* j+ { K' c6 P/ O" c) ^# ~% A; ^2 ^$ N 3 o! T% \$ ?# y* i& \* d2 B- T& pJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 3 ^3 ~2 ?; C/ S9 x) x/ C$ u+ W# G 5 w- h8 {8 ]/ k+ h$ X+ y- y " `! ~$ M$ ]1 c) `5 Z& ^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. : u2 z9 I8 A/ Z Y( ?" ]) E, o 7 {6 P P, ~# m& L* X9 x! X0 |( P . i+ g. F; A) ~; @% t March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. * F. E: S' q# t- ~ ~$ G
8 |: _- `: j7 `8 V# p : J5 f, M/ ?' a, H/ c1 W The Expat Exodus 9 v* \0 d1 O/ O# w* d
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. " z! U- K. }5 E! Q 5 [. O# }) k+ }0 b # I5 t" V0 @- k$ o( p " T& i# b$ ^; Q4 m' K5 A j+ ?& SEmigration 8 j- ?, U* I3 B/ k& x
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 7 X% ^/ \ [# w8 Y5 K( v( }; r
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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。 x& h$ ]( F. q% D% T' a7 v
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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。3 c# t7 `9 p0 R+ C
# p6 M; N! S8 x, w0 R作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
( `# P+ p% i8 g. H: rThe People's Liberation Army 4 j) S- Y; W( B! e" CA 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. ) _! A5 M0 ?* N- s, k+ Q" e- U2 `4 a( L( F* C$ [! H8 V
% F! Y' k" t- B8 K# h & R7 ?7 M) n1 _( BVictoria 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. " F3 L0 C! u. \% n
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3 w! u3 v) ~4 c) Y& b % i: _* Q. I/ [5 X8 QMilton 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. ) x- P% B! `4 y( f# B 6 o! L3 v4 R/ u; G, J- A3 m # m' V$ `) K K' V2 C + b$ B& A. R6 L+ dWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. ( g9 ]5 i9 a/ f/ S ) f1 D( p! D' |: Y7 X4 x# B . V6 p) @: x% r' Z3 U& m' o1 D9 tHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ; Z0 X4 Q l t0 N$ i ! I( h2 e# f* h, A0 x! B; d; w 9 U% r5 h2 h8 x: P9 o l+ e% y. o* r
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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