[国际新闻] 《时代》25页篇幅认错:回归没令香港死亡

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。( b% y( w1 m# q. H3 I3 R5 |; H: v' A/ ?4 m
# F8 o6 {: i1 _% h. y$ Y
1 `. E5 V3 X6 X5 u7 ]* P

" c& f% n! B& E* ^! V- {2 t+ g/ u
' R( o" ?( ]/ }! N  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 y, c" ^. w" y3 d& ?. s% r8 L) {
* W. T+ p' @% o1 g' {  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。
/ D" o: Q' W* \  {/ E
' p* k* J% o% ]: H! `6 B- l( F
8 K) p! R. X/ h/ crs238848.rs.hosteurope.deJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.
4 ?: J: q. ~4 o" R/ `0 S8 ?1 K! `+ |$ w
5 p( t# G0 g# W6 C# v% _! S- b; T
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.
( a- H9 L1 {. V+ h, hrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
# }0 g. h' k. F1 L* d" U7 t1 R
! B1 v& A# C6 |人在德国 社区
9 }8 x. n4 F/ \- r; ]0 K% P: @March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health.
0 a- k3 ?5 [* B' Rrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
4 i( o4 B% d( W/ [rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de  h* u5 d$ J7 D0 n9 V
The Expat Exodus
2 P+ o" d+ ?: g: j8 hOn 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 m8 k2 C" _" @7 z* b

0 _, W- B6 f! j" g
: }1 {; e/ H0 `2 g: e# x
4 p7 P' R. k* Q) [' f* f7 O2 Lrs238848.rs.hosteurope.deEmigration 人在德国 社区4 h+ s3 O5 b) y. S! x
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de" P3 G. E5 r, O# L
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de; ?( D# O) r$ P

! J  `0 A7 u, I5 H# d) h; n: Y  《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。+ }+ G7 V7 ~! D+ o, K! S0 f, s
, ~' j1 k. t: U1 W, j
  《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。人在德国 社区( a& z/ }% _+ c
) I- z! m% r0 K# p9 k
Share |
Share

8 Q5 w: z  ~; e
The People's Liberation Army 7 ~7 Z* s- L. m6 w% C% f$ [; S5 R
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.
/ `$ I# X: [0 Q* o/ frs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
7 F0 D# K# B" Z1 ^0 C3 \5 L- S% i6 j

! }* I4 P" M: m3 j, N! S) |4 u& Crs238848.rs.hosteurope.deVictoria 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.
! t4 ?+ o# T7 @! {7 ~( r2 Z8 I; V( {
% {. A! S  s( O( X9 Y' ^  K
' F, o- d/ B7 c' `  h人在德国 社区: d( \9 H3 \5 ]+ T' j- l) e
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. $ [0 z* G, F6 W3 T+ V- D1 n/ W

2 U2 Y8 i/ X1 Krs238848.rs.hosteurope.de4 p/ O, |) f  \+ h. b+ L/ r

# P; W/ O' k8 W9 ers238848.rs.hosteurope.deWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de1 V: [& i$ G" l

* C  G) f9 a: Jrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de6 t/ Q* n4 l! M1 j1 Y9 X
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions.
4 v! J% D! H+ r% O
2 F& J. ^3 `. ]) Y* ?
. y$ I! t3 ^! c& @1 P' A, Prs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
0 [% ]. r3 Z2 B* S8 H1 |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.

TOP