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。 * g3 I$ w; v; ^1 ]& Z6 t/ M : y$ ~7 H' Y6 e" `' L; w' h& J& v 9 T; s8 X/ ^: W6 Q0 n9 s. P) h3 l* `: Z$ B* ^% C
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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。 ; K+ z0 g3 x3 s . \* z( _7 e4 O$ n+ i, r$ P0 Q0 s 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。 $ e Y9 H1 l% M: B8 \. O' R& o 0 I: ^ P% H! [. t4 P 2 c& }2 \! \! ~0 z8 X) hJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.# x3 [* \2 G& V" ~4 W7 v! O D
/ j i; p4 Y: F5 u) h& Z' @$ ^; p1 h9 [2 h7 {# s 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. / T. X4 k- _0 _# O/ M' P5 ~8 B& J' j$ k! u& p; k2 x
' ~7 A1 m$ z9 C% B4 d% P" A8 `! a9 I$ P3 T l, A( {# w March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. # ^6 R. k2 G" G: F0 I# l& g8 @! L4 V, z 9 b1 u) b" m0 r3 }5 b9 dThe Expat Exodus , g# d) g g6 ~) JOn 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. / q3 L+ O$ y2 ?/ Y+ `* a% n) u
$ ^9 U- A* v7 O; q& b6 v ' B" a4 I/ E" Y. a k* Z5 x - x2 ]) A0 [& x3 R8 v2 { Emigration 0 B0 [0 R& q4 V. d, ]/ t
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ( v# D5 F' ?* A% x* u3 `- v$ R 4 N9 W8 |* y& a; j! K4 S/ a! Z3 J / J8 h% J/ v4 v8 ?3 o3 w6 { 《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。 + ?: [1 s" n! _! `6 V ! V6 ^! Z1 \# ]. A! u 《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。 6 o. g% }: g- {2 U+ V0 \ # U5 j) D% U0 \0 D0 d( V 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
# v5 w$ t. N; o9 fThe People's Liberation Army 3 Q7 H) t; I/ Y1 G5 A+ }8 \0 S
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. - V7 l; ^! Y$ J! [: G2 _1 i3 n
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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. 0 }* a) I- a% b1 ~8 I9 E; j
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) e+ L+ k- o; A( {2 K; Z/ s ( s+ C) r1 J) n6 _& H# k J' 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. , ~1 I" X# L8 \8 [
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x/ p; a8 Y$ R; Z a* L5 u 6 J7 K- O" p+ g6 [. i' LWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.+ [1 F& l9 N# X$ _5 n2 M6 K! s+ T
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Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. - A+ l/ o7 ^' e* _
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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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