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。 # K+ a( l% T8 b; J0 U2 z . O5 D: O4 ^9 S) y, i+ p6 e" w. D 1 \0 A. M% y" A5 t2 V1 Y/ B& ?' z* b7 U! d2 j
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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。6 `# ]7 J5 T% [5 k, e
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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。 ) J( X# ^* _) D5 @: s% _% q$ U * Z* ] n% |2 X6 e7 n4 F8 w( M5 U ; G; O1 ~$ y8 X/ ~ July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. : R7 u! |. F" s/ G4 }9 V/ H5 |/ r4 s& } # L$ Y; x7 B: N8 ^/ Z! ^ C, J. T/ q4 K$ M8 d 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.- J1 X$ w( [8 o/ {& w4 d9 R* p
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; g( a0 W# _* i 2 h/ k, Q' h7 b$ S+ ]9 SMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ) c3 |( J: D- Z0 e7 V/ K
6 i& {! a3 \ Y p * O/ d. P* C; Q; u% h8 O- x8 U The Expat Exodus $ v! O- e' }0 G) q4 W7 h
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% \# w1 Z9 U& t4 ~2 p" R3 h! K* W
+ |6 O& P3 e$ W& t . l: i7 M) v; a3 q" b. o * J1 v; Q; l2 C& c0 hEmigration $ i' P- V2 A& b mJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. , ?" O( [0 T8 P& v- ^
" [ s2 I- X( U* R ?- n+ }% \ : M6 s$ x3 e) D# |. m* r 《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。 8 {7 D P. T) m, h1 K" S6 J" H4 W( k / P$ ]* }& }) o' F! B 《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。7 S8 M9 e) Z4 j( J& x5 ]# @
, h% z* h1 W; I `4 B- R4 N 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
; k; b) m8 F L# w3 a$ [& `8 j# Q The People's Liberation Army 6 p. m0 o3 ^; \
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. 2 A2 E% U3 H0 {- _3 {
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# y/ P/ n8 _+ t3 E$ X; u$ T E$ f! F; w6 l' o9 cVictoria 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. + z. R% `5 p" ], S ~9 g8 `: u. L# @# n
- n, w3 D1 @. F4 a, r( A& M4 j { ) k; u) g/ Z. a4 {+ u2 y$ k1 PMilton 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. : V& S* f8 @% I5 G( b% m5 @- r4 k, b # @( _( r) d/ @ : g ^5 S* V# Q- Q7 O7 T' `' ]6 D6 H5 q" H7 c; p
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.; w9 ]# f) U$ J3 R
; i' r: a& O0 T0 v6 K1 z1 \ - u+ \3 E' B1 RHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 7 |+ j, g1 `. n' \/ M+ _: k" y) s; O; s* I. j, x* Y
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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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