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。 1 G! c8 \% p4 _2 _, C! R c$ N! n: v2 H + r! q0 Z9 q. B/ l4 [; M- v - u( x5 \4 |, L$ g+ }! f . p. ^: C' Y! Y5 w; y5 p7 {) r$ o+ d; p
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。 # W2 {9 t* M0 W; P 0 \6 o: F3 `% P" L, r: g* J
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 {1 x$ q! @9 L
. J+ |% l) [' {+ j' A1 G& M! O' z ( i/ L. W" i5 K0 \% SJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. " Q! s) ]4 q% Y' q5 ^$ F , j. \4 c. I1 q- L7 _5 h7 C- G' p" J" o% N; F 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. x0 X; L j0 p+ k9 f& W9 }" e1 c3 e6 ^2 z
0 P# u( V/ V) `+ v; f* Y( ~6 k" S, X$ k. f 8 f6 e, ~4 S' z+ _0 T0 k( \7 _" bMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 6 [, t" X8 W1 z
' A4 I) |0 V9 D6 F" x: V % m! w9 t3 _: R0 x The Expat Exodus $ {2 I" a4 L* 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. c3 |1 u/ l* ^. t ) u' L2 P- A* ~- y5 d 2 K& ]3 w9 b9 r& H( p, X! J) K- m5 _8 M5 U2 c+ c# c' c Emigration ' p5 d2 _% E! \0 |) ]; |
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 5 z3 [/ B/ [$ l: q. A( R* L ; N4 ^) j. @# D. B 7 n _( U; B3 s6 P3 F( z9 ?
《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。5 E0 C3 V* e. x5 }
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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。# c" y/ d$ c5 D+ [" F! a- I: k. E
- k. B' ]# }* L3 r& G' G! n( X作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
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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. ( s8 B" {+ }$ ?/ y
2 ]% l l& Y+ D2 G, _1 W; |* b5 ^3 }' y, O B/ o2 J4 ^& s/ |2 `3 J9 RVictoria 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. ! P5 J, `" v" b- k1 Y! E6 x% D5 G! [( g0 H
2 N* s) @% W* ~. e5 p( z5 ` 5 f5 y: V/ m! ]Milton 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. 2 [; M7 I, s+ I* q / p0 i6 G- M6 \) ]/ x- [; T! T4 B8 S3 V" A ! }8 F7 F$ K- M' S& R BWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. ! ]$ @& m2 m5 S6 v' ?% M, x1 z3 v! m7 _. A- Z * n0 c8 Z; Z- z: E, W5 C& R1 T
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. # u5 I- x% ]& Q+ U/ S# Y9 s. d$ P: J/ l# p( z3 Q D
$ ]" @. f6 R. O ; S" M7 _' B! x. Y/ X# D! B- X- YContrary 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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