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。 ( F" Y+ q$ M# ?( V% R6 j" ~2 O 5 U1 _" l3 }+ ^: F3 T7 j* d ! E* q0 [. a) ?* o 5 R/ h; r4 K8 }2 s* a5 d9 o6 w( p' L5 T+ Q) y4 n 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。 2 g+ ^6 I0 v& w0 B2 L 7 J1 w" ?- i3 S% u 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。8 l" H. q5 i8 c* r
# R, {- P2 \0 F' c5 \! x ) F3 v& W" K. K* B0 bJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.# h3 ]- E# o6 b' q2 C
% F: _ p0 P6 u8 n' d! |/ |9 f" R T; J5 _$ q7 u( G% y. b! s0 S 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. . i* J& v! X# u5 Y/ K3 o! u ; q; ^; x. X, X. ]+ ]+ j) i( ^7 q9 a' {/ y+ M) C1 z6 A 1 B9 x4 n) h2 v* UMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 0 \1 m3 Z6 O1 a: E# n3 ^% t9 H" O/ r! }3 {( i ' d2 X/ d/ H" ]& Q7 o The Expat Exodus 8 l @0 U) x1 v/ |' N0 ]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. s# |4 z* ?5 y5 e 9 H% t9 L& h7 I M: v' c, o& ~
' W+ q. c; l" m, n$ u# _( n/ `0 D/ O0 h( i Emigration 3 F5 ]; r Z9 ]% ^% f' ?
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ' `! I: e7 A) A$ i. B 1 I, i1 l3 r' D }0 }
8 j! K+ X z, N3 M% B 《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。 8 I# \( X5 T( R& {- m1 i ( f+ d9 F( g5 J# v0 y+ v
《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。 - }3 J L: }$ X0 M & }( \9 l1 {/ H1 M7 x作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
; d2 T8 }, P& v( [0 EThe People's Liberation Army & ?, ~3 p( t u1 KA 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. " @- b: d- Z$ J4 s9 B* ]* J
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3 i$ E( G. h! ~$ U7 K1 O) Y9 k / N3 X- F q% JVictoria 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. / L3 w' R1 m4 M$ F- Z+ W6 Q7 _6 A8 J& m$ b4 q* ]- {7 S
% M. Q$ C8 N: p6 n6 T6 S& O * G }0 d1 e( F: A: b7 `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. & M! M" X8 E |3 k" L4 m4 V" P
y+ G# J) P- C1 ?) i" ~7 W3 y! R/ @ y. [0 U : L9 `9 l h& hWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.6 d, w$ {! ~7 K* U6 ~
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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; l8 @+ X V: {7 M( b; x) a, K % Y: x. K; B" H! W* W1 E ) J1 d2 P( [7 @+ O 9 ], @- Q5 x3 x. t) q5 C( PContrary 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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