[国际新闻] 《时代》25页篇幅认错：回归没令香港死亡

日月光

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。% n3 F+ K1 F; ]. |4 _" Q% o- W! O) L' p

3 a+ m# C% M  `1 U人在德国 社区
% o: y) R5 s6 Vrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de# u5 L& X$ m' Q* D

6 w' t) K* Y) D6 ?　　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。
" R- }2 s' C) }" C8 O7 S7 Y $ g1 W# }) |2 \/ E' z7 B8 j0 E
　　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。
3 ?+ J& g2 b3 ], z6 G& i: G2 O; D" H
' R( _8 I4 `/ x9 B* x, Ors238848.rs.hosteurope.de: {7 ~( H) d+ a' ^  @) Y$ g& x7 D, |5 J  L
July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.- N. v  g5 E( `/ N

8 T6 r0 @$ j. f$ K6 {5 l6 C' P- [
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.
5 e, [5 O- @5 X: f% o" T
- n' }+ [0 Q1 s! U, R1 h. ~; q
4 y0 I) U& y8 ^  I! E5 Vrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de& D0 w0 J: x) X4 E
March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 人在德国 社区! V/ [5 d2 y# s$ O- L; }( d- Q+ S
2 Z5 ~0 m. a& J* L

( c/ P! b( L3 W. k# m2 zThe Expat Exodus rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de* m9 ^( L' h! r) \) k
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. rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de$ I% J& b: P, `, [: B  @# I1 ~

8 Z3 S/ u1 Q$ W3 M 0 c8 J# l/ v/ _6 G7 z: J6 l7 q
人在德国 社区3 m+ _7 K: a/ D
Emigration
2 r3 i5 R% n: `. lrs238848.rs.hosteurope.deJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de( Q. k  l' e" R9 Z

. [- x# G' M7 ~
; l6 W: y) [. q0 ?; s　　《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 |% {; L2 L( n2 u. x& _+ U! W rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de/ p0 Q  Y. x  |+ z" Z1 n
　　《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 O7 y: G) m! F( l4 X, z人在德国 社区
1 {* F- O. j- \& q) ?

日月光

1 U5 b  |- b- O& S1 v# v! Z
The People's Liberation Army 人在德国 社区2 g- O) ^! \$ k( z! f4 u2 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.
$ Q/ n0 L( J+ `1 n; G: m5 p
. E$ ~0 l% A. R% J0 F( L9 C3 X+ k8 w" L" t! U1 G

9 H+ U* |2 O) C8 s5 ~, I  l3 _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.
: c; u/ T# w' I/ {- v人在德国 社区
* l5 F/ o# X0 l8 p/ `人在德国 社区; s. t# ~% _2 i* d

" U& c8 ]. K! }% I4 s& G8 }人在德国 社区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.   |& S. k! a" a" w( b' ?& M! Z
  T5 |9 H9 c+ ]; v' V& ?( O1 C0 D

: N1 W( X7 p: {9 K+ ~. t人在德国 社区# a3 C1 T& L7 Z! g& f/ \) q9 E0 I
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.
4 j2 N9 _) K2 D  p% }
# D0 s& Q8 Q0 brs238848.rs.hosteurope.de" p/ O6 v& O3 O2 m
Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 人在德国 社区; d6 K  m$ A# _. N
2 ]* B6 l5 c* C# |

6 f  K) l- d# m/ b7 r人在德国 社区
( G, w6 u+ ?( o. u& WContrary to dire predictions, Hong Kong hasn't yet lost its economic edge to cheaper cities on the mainland or to cleaner, more orderly Singapore.