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+ T/ x, n0 W6 s
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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。: J% c; T6 v E( E `7 S# c5 }
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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。" f* _! T3 `% X [6 Y$ i
3 g' r: n/ ?+ l$ w7 W& R2 c4 p" H; a+ r + Q1 O8 N8 U# L7 {; A$ w5 R6 V July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 5 b" |0 h! H* p5 ]& Q! |9 D% W, k9 u* j/ I& I- _. y ' v2 Y, Y O0 \. e& gFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 1 |# j$ M' ?6 D* ~/ B- m$ H ; ^, n: L3 Y0 D+ A 0 B9 p7 Q5 [+ Q# M) g $ B$ ?/ m1 k& h9 Y1 u Y. mMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. $ Q$ |4 g: O- H; V& [ . r3 p* I& E1 S, ?, [& d 1 \6 M: ?- D* o. p' aThe Expat Exodus % F. ?5 ^8 L+ w d e8 X0 ?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. $ E, w. v) y/ D3 [ * G, }: [' s9 m7 k0 e: m
7 ]5 \; X5 W4 k: }( y; w9 m - E& R% c& Y( I) J Emigration C3 h, x% Q- _ { T( c, ?Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. + h z- K' Q, R2 ~' R- T2 ] 0 p4 t9 l. D5 b+ X' G4 M
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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。 1 E$ x4 E6 n4 i/ y7 D. _! I $ S. d" A0 q# Y* c 《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。! I+ Q: y* h) [$ V$ r
5 c \/ N9 {- k4 L$ Q, D z作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
; a* Q. u. {2 O# j( e The People's Liberation Army 8 V, f8 |& M! i7 yA 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. & L/ J9 }0 l9 c: N# q) f
{8 p* U: }6 S4 F0 ^4 Q/ X+ M+ J* E6 r+ a, f4 S' I- K [; k7 l+ B * [. Q- L! X; {* L9 x2 B& ~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 T/ K( A3 F+ z. u7 C
6 X( O) X) v4 l) Z1 k4 {( ~) J7 D & g M+ w( o) r9 M4 N1 R7 }4 Q : i" s6 B3 X& |- X+ E2 f& _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. ) E& F' t% _6 Y
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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." H9 a6 d5 Y8 ~# |& x+ V
+ S O) n& T& w d $ { G1 d4 \* y1 b m* }Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 7 e2 e" p- R l+ D: @) ] 8 ^# q, Q5 a; y3 e' o- k* D& r g- e5 Q6 Z! V9 G+ `1 @( ` ; F6 k( m1 T. O$ t- XContrary 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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