[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。rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de$ i  b0 n* j4 c/ ~0 W

9 Q4 ~! z% R3 y& O7 k% k! ]+ x3 @  j5 J

/ ]9 W4 j& C$ J$ s* G2 e6 Wrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
( ^5 d2 A+ M) d% x% L  g% P  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。
. {' i1 K" q6 W4 Z6 R3 i( ~ 6 M& K7 d+ p0 l
  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。: V& z; q6 v3 s: M: k4 p# I

, T0 f0 E* h* D3 S人在德国 社区. G! c' Q$ b6 @5 ^2 v4 a
July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong." v# @7 T$ W  C5 X% f( u' f
  S5 _, \3 ^/ E: j  e4 Z
% n5 z$ m/ O0 H
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.  G9 N3 N9 A  {9 ^' C, E( L
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de2 c3 e, x! f& ~0 p3 b5 W3 e

5 \' Q+ ~3 Q: F/ g2 Y- z2 k人在德国 社区
7 o  `- H5 d5 |; Grs238848.rs.hosteurope.deMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de$ j$ D, Y* _" ?+ E

. _/ h* p8 u1 w. H5 [: J  x# O; C; W% V
The Expat Exodus ' i0 @* c( u; d
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. 6 n7 `: v4 m  p
7 w4 B. |& _! r  v: I, G& P, |$ X

( H4 n2 K/ J1 h, k) }8 P人在德国 社区
& l" _; `, ^  l  h$ p3 tEmigration 9 O9 |' `! x- C: O
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover.
5 y  S1 e6 ^9 ?- `. [% z+ x  K ( L- {7 e0 W. V- n1 ~1 P6 _& [) P& d
0 ^9 M% j7 T" _" g
  《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。
5 g$ z4 c. J4 \4 C* G/ H人在德国 社区 人在德国 社区: O+ t% p: V" z, C) {
  《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。
8 V& L( f5 O( }. h; I( o人在德国 社区
! x2 H5 V/ }  ~$ M


& E1 a$ X# r% S* i: qThe People's Liberation Army
( d) m+ I/ s* o' \& Y) d2 LA 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.
  h# [3 Q( ^4 M' ?6 M9 A  F人在德国 社区
8 u4 M3 i# o% r9 P$ n1 W
0 P" G) ]! W( s( G6 {' |$ B. J5 ?7 X
2 M: q' r. B1 D" ^: R7 Y人在德国 社区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. 人在德国 社区' \: p- Z8 t! Z, ]& s
人在德国 社区9 l8 c1 H* K5 n3 t' k

4 h( C; i, J4 }; M, v  W8 |( ~人在德国 社区! }) [, E" j# N4 ?; k/ v! M0 a
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.
/ z+ I* H/ w, F- m; h1 Y- t9 R9 b$ \. Z% B

3 c# z- p+ g% }9 n人在德国 社区
$ B7 ]+ v9 s2 o) Brs238848.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.
8 x8 c* T& x3 i7 K' s( u) E7 z人在德国 社区5 F, P; e7 v  h0 G

. E/ ?. \: a- ^/ F' z/ F% `rs238848.rs.hosteurope.deHong 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# M/ K3 Y6 m' ^7 o- H1 O
人在德国 社区/ p) \3 _0 R4 H  r0 J0 j6 k) [

/ H- P% z( F+ b# }) I; n
) F7 v) c- W: `; q+ m人在德国 社区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