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。 , `2 K0 Y7 F, c, g8 B8 e, Z & l5 x G* b- p# O& h! M 5 Q1 c. L7 H% H2 J+ [7 Q6 ^( q+ E . q, b, T! _9 V5 o5 ?& [' g9 ~- S* h! e- W& f
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。 : ]* ~, A; e) g& x; h2 P# H 0 O& d" A4 `% M% q
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。 & a7 p& s* t9 R5 g9 } # ?+ S1 W3 s7 g& l2 U- T. U ( V2 d0 s |; {/ d& sJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 2 P7 i1 y) a% M/ L$ H( w9 l$ {0 j* p$ w) i% \$ e6 J \& I" Q/ ^" _3 Q; H; y8 Y; ~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.2 M+ e3 K2 k/ G5 T
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1 ]" R* `4 f1 C. v- S" M+ t( d! g1 [ . k$ g' O% V8 y0 HMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 8 b1 G# N2 R7 _$ \- A3 w % B/ w; W p6 x. f4 p2 v& z& y( P' ]! R; \" e5 V. a% O: q. Y The Expat Exodus / `0 V7 p, d- z. W9 P/ n
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. # L: U1 \% F M1 l5 D2 p1 n
1 g' y+ M' e4 p* E! ^- \. M. y 8 C' S" c& I& T/ z7 ?1 r8 A) ^! J' u Emigration . @/ Q) p/ T9 a9 P& p0 D% Q
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ) c7 Q: @* F! ] H$ P
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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。 " Y" Y6 \8 ]/ {: q$ J: f q( Q& } , A/ e1 e7 P% u$ H" 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。- \7 y$ V; `, L9 U$ r }# B8 n
' v' q: a8 K F$ s3 b( n. i 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
4 |0 h! _' C, fThe People's Liberation Army , s! @: o/ ~5 c6 k- S& O$ b
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. ) T3 j" {% D2 Q5 u/ k4 ^
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' q% R2 U3 V& N6 S+ \5 p( g0 ? ; y; O! T+ m# A6 l5 ]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. 9 D: t6 O& [' F8 D/ X4 W* y( O* r7 b5 s4 ]
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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. 1 _9 b9 h$ F ^5 N, R/ |' Z . J) x$ x A: o! {7 K3 k" O2 B; Y; C( l7 V/ `& M/ {7 ~" |$ v w3 b8 I* K6 B) GWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.7 N$ V0 E) b x$ c
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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. ( n. o/ i; P7 x# b" O0 Q+ ]* a
. `& V8 U! `3 e) T' {4 x , i- Q. l: C% s/ Y * H+ \+ J* I8 X6 C2 hContrary 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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