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。 + Z6 J2 W- E% E' E1 C 2 e; C/ D! Z+ d- \7 Q* r& y. j1 [$ u) G5 l7 |" [6 T, `
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: M) u9 v& V, L* \8 G( {. v+ B 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。 & j% D# d. e/ I4 P3 O4 i5 x. u9 z$ C 6 g: q! b4 |1 T* D
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; t$ v' d" ~1 D
9 m. @6 A/ P( R7 ]' ~, c7 R4 ^ ( u7 {$ b! i( J. u2 g July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 1 [, A1 S6 R6 ?3 o8 Q' V4 d; D& Q( W& b* {/ L& n @2 |' K6 H; a! {6 W* D : {0 l2 a3 E6 S/ f: s/ U 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. ) y2 o/ W l8 |# o5 b* q2 R; R- ~/ N* q$ c# r6 `) e+ j
% L7 M& X; S2 g- N1 U v 8 z' B* N# d8 B7 s5 K3 BMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. - }2 W$ h+ }. b9 Y! O; J! k7 ^$ N8 m 8 K* _. }5 S% h: JThe Expat Exodus + n8 H# K: f- m0 H8 F) Z& I/ 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. 5 F9 q, u. f+ R$ T# n$ t) t8 C2 P . N0 t0 F0 x2 C0 a! W/ [
0 E4 Y! W5 z2 m: N. g7 p: j 9 |; @$ o/ Z0 T) {: a' y* QEmigration 5 d) u3 L: v& V \- kJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. + P# c" N6 m/ i, M* m9 X - p* G1 Y- e: ]% E 5 i8 T# [) x/ F7 `* z
《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。 9 P0 B1 x8 T$ v* y( F* S ) X7 `+ ~' v* w5 M |! D% } 《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。 2 z1 W9 {9 p2 {/ X8 s, q$ R) t+ q& _3 m 5 o3 `; |# @8 Q* } q$ { 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
5 O+ _- \4 X& z; Z+ H _% zThe People's Liberation Army 9 U" ^5 T: F) |4 U* x
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. & k5 w1 M5 l9 J# ^
1 v8 o+ H2 ]& E6 | u; f5 Z5 C8 M, T4 _; q" y8 ` 3 x% G j1 }8 H! t- [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. 4 {# w, q2 [" b
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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. ! j( h2 `( |6 ^% X, J9 `/ }
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With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.) ~% u8 _# P0 X' J! D' ^3 y
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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. k' X$ J- g6 E4 ~: Q ! j& B' f; G' Y% {/ L# Y" N9 W/ x( ~ 6 h0 A9 e5 Y( x) W9 Y 4 ?/ [+ Q3 w' Y. eContrary 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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