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。 S0 I1 P6 `4 s1 y& d% O 3 l$ s1 s' {9 O6 ?4 c! j) S 5 U) A D! q0 G6 _: N/ C. r# U2 ^, E4 J7 ^
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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。 ( `0 [; W1 E) C6 z/ }4 e, e0 r : x/ O+ y- j) i& M& ~ 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。. G) l$ _* J8 ?! a6 [9 x. C; U. B
0 }# W O5 A Z; R- Q . u6 `" Q2 g, U# u4 hJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. $ f$ `7 g9 c" T* g) c, B T$ N$ E7 n2 p . V5 E1 m! h7 O. F. C' k! h7 ^. `% }# j- \4 y0 w2 ] 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.: y+ B+ ^: O8 C1 q& V& S* _) v
8 `' h, m/ i* ~* L$ Q0 d 1 X; s& l, b7 f* f/ I+ U$ c$ a) \; Y! H m" \9 X! P+ d March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. * Q$ E8 E! R0 W
# ^+ T% T0 H% n* Z 5 L8 T* [, ? ^3 |6 c( J: v The Expat Exodus - s! o" W- S8 z9 Q
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. : `7 e1 Z* u8 \) X& x / f. a7 ], A. _+ Y7 L0 W( z
* z' c- x: J4 k2 D 7 g, B8 \5 y1 h$ mEmigration / G+ @9 H2 `6 i/ r
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. * E6 c! X% r. }' p9 ^ 0 n! j* j5 C( e" E, E) W0 U( h6 v+ x
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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。 0 O6 C) H7 N2 { 2 i& x$ K7 f8 b1 l; W, G4 H 《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。) A; T, I0 m, t6 B0 m5 n4 C# L9 S
& k( c5 L& @7 Z6 M% e作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
4 O2 |9 V' _& p* _! g9 X The People's Liberation Army 4 e# {* B4 B8 S. K! Y, x2 IA 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. 9 m/ t% U5 c! W6 X4 c- M U1 Z3 N3 z# d# l
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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 n# D3 B. G) ]4 Y/ U2 d- W( T, l
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4 C% M% S: W- g+ X' u $ ~1 a. |" c& E! V$ ZMilton 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. 9 G! L" N5 h) \, y$ [
" j& J0 K* d6 Y3 S. s. e) H 3 v; ^' J" U; P) F5 V$ _# I) J P 0 X7 ]/ o l! Z% \1 \With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 1 j2 c7 A3 V. g# W- g; J. y% X4 ~1 Z! K, w+ F ' `' m R Z! {8 u6 c
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. - b) A `4 X0 N) P9 C$ D& _5 }; Z! t# X; W+ X$ {# ~. T8 e, ?9 Y/ h
8 J9 J' `, r+ S* A , J9 \5 q! y. C0 m- U; L g. zContrary 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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