[国际新闻] 《时代》25页篇幅认错：回归没令香港死亡

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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。0 k( Z8 h) X. }# I# A0 o

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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。rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de) a; ?1 F/ {# J2 P; O
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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。人在德国 社区9 n. A) d' t. h

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# n& ]/ t, h1 `  w- R! J人在德国 社区July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.; ]- K( k) ^7 g3 m' q) S. y2 h& Q

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1 [8 m* C  R# z- w' mFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.$ J; W0 B5 v2 ~* H7 ^  \0 G

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March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. : p; t. s8 f# m
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" h' F( }+ Z+ A- Q9 u/ y( E% ?1 E人在德国 社区The Expat Exodus
' b7 [: A& t2 H/ W3 t3 p/ a+ I5 VOn 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. ' i4 ^' {9 Q6 \! M
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover.
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  B( I) ?2 Z3 ~4 Xrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de　　《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。人在德国 社区9 X4 X( b% q/ g$ W
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　　《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。; V; L2 }; Y9 o7 ~: y1 `. o

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+ K: y3 h6 |/ X7 T* o  j( l9 U+ ]The People's Liberation Army $ i4 y2 a: ~* G
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. 0 i8 Y; I. \* e0 x5 H
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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. rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de- D# F* h9 _5 J4 I

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: z8 B1 Y2 ~  F) E! ]rs238848.rs.hosteurope.deMilton 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.
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With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.
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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. rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de( @% n9 b2 U- S% r- 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.