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。% ~ Z7 \$ }# y/ v
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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。1 d V( R* [- Q7 A" y
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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。, k; C2 r2 M( E# x4 m, g9 \
; s/ I+ p' T# ^3 M0 ? & E1 T0 D) A" lJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. $ {& X0 @* X$ {/ P3 q) c. w & D7 m5 {0 ]$ B c+ i$ l- G - g) z3 j4 ]7 y# D* r6 uFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.* [9 T& s" t- @% U
1 Z1 u3 v# J3 X7 T3 j( W4 A, }1 N, t + S- T2 w9 Z0 n! F* \# A1 X March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. # D6 ^3 ~, p) w/ I2 E! x! o
. B3 M$ Q* w- ] & C# I7 k# Q( J5 s# v The Expat Exodus . L3 x$ P# _$ O# Y$ Q
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 @8 f9 e: t( K2 u' G% D6 A
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. + X4 W4 d- o8 D# b6 d3 f0 k R
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6 r4 L) f% G* F: E. D 《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。 7 H( z* n5 p! [4 ^% `% b+ @! M) U ; O) {! y# Z% y. B 《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 C! Q, ^6 w! L0 `- l4 y8 h9 a* r
* i2 i5 b, [& G7 b 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
' A' V. Y! D( m. h7 |1 `3 K6 J4 ~! ]The People's Liberation Army - d' ]& |1 \& o$ A
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. 4 U; H" E/ J/ i' K/ U1 B* `
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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. ) B! f \" y" m3 c; m+ n7 x, p* E* K$ q* h- d; Q
5 y# D' D6 i. P8 ` 8 i# b; ~" A# E, s: m/ ~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. * M0 e$ C7 x* C" h8 N
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3 ?/ b5 F( n7 y# G( e 5 H2 G' j4 Z* N. q7 l- RWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.0 U7 a4 q2 X2 u5 _, O
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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. 9 d: [. B# b: R- l m1 [ R
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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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