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。 ) A! p9 N/ t6 w 4 E' `4 _! S. N; Y$ q0 @ $ q, l4 H' V! ]/ l: M' }
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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。6 ^* X6 n& n0 C
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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。 9 b, L0 T2 Q, v. g% G% t / l2 T% t1 Q9 y: W! c - l: {. Y; I1 [July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.. {1 k7 @8 j( q5 t
' F$ b3 L. x4 B- r5 y" A9 i6 X0 o, d( r - O1 B3 j8 t# A; B$ K8 \3 c% M1 TFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.8 D( `3 J, y8 U9 q9 k+ S' X
# f; S0 S t7 ~$ J 0 ^) s# n9 o$ K$ Y) K; @ * u8 Z& ]$ X+ ]! @/ U% @9 VMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. . o6 C! B( l1 v8 |9 W3 f$ V8 \/ ?) d5 {1 j) S 3 K# }4 O* F9 A. ?; tThe Expat Exodus ; a) | r* J" ]+ L$ m
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. " I. O2 a/ S$ O7 x6 I8 l" ] 5 v8 n# Y8 L( ]. }* u & x0 T( n6 \: k2 y5 V 8 G3 K# U6 J: @" cEmigration ! w2 w3 c( F4 O5 p3 C9 p
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 3 w ?& |2 a) f# }$ { % h4 j, ~0 s- s; w
5 F. w, V! ~$ Y1 g0 T 《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。& f% T) [" K5 Q: j& h9 p& q
6 E' l0 @. {% h; A作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
6 d' i3 L- ?8 l0 E1 e7 ^- L The People's Liberation Army 1 G/ c6 u p( Q4 AA 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. ?, q+ l3 V0 R; |
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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. , G0 H2 D) T4 x5 e1 l+ i" q ! J3 P6 L3 M. y/ o+ j- U$ a6 G - Z/ @$ H9 u$ j( t( X" K) y! Z9 ~' u/ ^- 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. 5 ]" p; n1 _' R6 i 1 W0 | y4 k6 ^1 K& w* n0 K9 P; ~0 \# A R& \# I4 ?7 Y , n! }% Y- s* X, |: O- A5 M
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.0 [. B# R6 f, k1 g
, N4 F( Y J/ _& W 0 G- F- }6 o* o: D2 j! THong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. : W; h- ~" H7 M4 ~' y3 I, _5 Y
' Q& J' Q3 M+ T5 T2 \& f: L$ Z' d 4 d+ j$ }6 y0 i/ e2 A, X/ x6 U1 j0 _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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