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。 4 K9 O8 v6 a" x/ Z9 A& ^ & `4 u8 A/ t1 Y; X$ O! ?7 G4 `; { 1 O' |% y$ B: d# H% V9 u! P! j' a; ^% T( `; d7 {/ x* 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。 + A6 Z2 l' {2 M4 q$ @* w" p 2 F3 n2 A# p2 B. T0 Z! ?9 o' R
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。! j2 |7 E D; ]0 \7 ^
' m- T: U3 Z/ I0 G2 ] 9 b% y# e3 X6 S5 y4 L% I7 g. h July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 5 j7 ?( U" q( L$ O3 e& \4 I( l8 N$ `( d4 f" p% _ ' D& ~3 F3 J3 G9 `; { 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. . V& O0 y3 s) u( Z* R' q T) V . n6 F" m3 V" n" W [/ B6 V; ] / ^ j8 W+ f7 y1 a) Z5 [3 Y, M C% L; F& U9 V S6 X March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. / o3 k# d4 F& ^ j) r- A
/ D9 V. n3 p5 V0 [ & {5 Z H/ e1 u9 gThe Expat Exodus 9 X @$ R5 T( Y- U
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. 2 ]9 D0 t. S, N) N: I
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; F" _, s& m6 s, c5 H; x2 v 9 h0 S: L4 L& C3 TEmigration # e2 o" P2 W8 F6 H# @9 O5 ?Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. . x3 @# \9 C. e7 h" ` / ?. W0 t5 t8 y8 F* p# N! m4 }4 I; X + {& _, z2 T# w' \9 f# b% F 《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 q7 u: _( {* u6 p 3 h# }$ Y2 U( N s 《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; [2 D: c( N/ ]$ @ - V3 X- e/ N1 o2 t作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
9 V' F( T, V8 W; N) V nThe People's Liberation Army 3 G; r V" r9 h: x* pA 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. $ j0 v' b: s4 C1 y# ^/ `: s& Z" l" A# h5 [ c& W' S) ~
/ H6 k" J( g7 x8 s) q1 h: K ) C1 I1 H) h; d3 L" D! g1 D$ sVictoria 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. ! m0 D4 i$ y y4 a$ b. x h6 a( {7 D, S5 N% t( X# H
$ [: N C# U' s9 t8 j) D j/ O , B8 t. N5 `' NMilton 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. ) L" K& s0 h% R$ D+ x z9 I
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( e/ I0 X, {$ N. {6 E, a & n4 w' U I4 u$ w0 NWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.$ N. r4 \; q8 S+ h# H
( s: A" n6 A* v( d2 {7 L ' z! c! X) F2 d( zHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. % o5 j, H0 v8 b4 @: E
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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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