[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。人在德国 社区5 M9 L) O, m# I# Y* q8 t3 H9 j
6 V3 L8 s: \7 x3 J. O' U( o

& _; w& a1 G% v% H. U, q人在德国 社区# J! f9 c- {( T

0 r7 |+ M$ r! k  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。
( _* @/ i8 h/ Y5 y  h
  @" e/ V# G1 F1 m  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。# n9 ~8 e  s; o

5 |) m# B/ {( I/ Y  {+ v4 @( c8 g3 W
3 n9 |7 l; q, Y- m9 H% BJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.人在德国 社区! S* {2 ?$ x" T5 g2 P4 l' u6 Z
人在德国 社区1 t  E- I! m* M, d) k" D1 M
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de/ ]( }0 j9 r5 x
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.& M$ }: r' A2 y$ w8 S
6 ^; G: y3 B; ^3 j

4 q+ d$ n( O) y  K" v* z" J) R; p( r1 A; |
March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 人在德国 社区+ O0 `& t% m  S6 B9 P, L2 f
; M5 D* Z$ j0 x% |4 ^2 J5 K7 ?/ l
1 e& _) p. C/ Q1 t2 x, A- h* j
The Expat Exodus
0 F. V$ R  K  I% @3 tOn 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.
' f8 Z; r9 n" L5 g6 l% E3 R 3 o3 p( ?+ C  K( g1 Y3 Y3 O
人在德国 社区% Z; I7 \( a5 O- I7 o2 v
/ M3 L) A, a* t7 Y
Emigration
) g/ n4 v' e1 p5 u) x5 s2 Yrs238848.rs.hosteurope.deJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ( d& A- B; u' d7 k. l1 ]. H
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de' x" X: o5 l- b, k
人在德国 社区3 w* k; I4 d# l( Q/ I
  《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。( {" I& Q" L) K" c8 i8 z

- a, r1 x% I6 `9 x2 R% e6 N" N+ B* F  《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。
" R9 ?5 c9 t% C$ A( M1 w ' b. x3 u- w# Z( O9 \

1 `" T& e5 ?% D; m7 J- y
The People's Liberation Army
# v$ q3 @3 q! u( R人在德国 社区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.
* w) P# a, A) a/ f5 S. x人在德国 社区
0 [8 l  t/ P( B0 z4 h3 S8 L& }/ {4 ~* j+ U

, |. s0 Y! I2 [5 R* t1 aVictoria 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.
2 i2 C  c1 n% @+ m1 D  b& P7 mrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de# B8 }1 S: `( {5 b& h
9 V( m+ _) e' c( Z2 Y! z' z/ ^

+ C# B  O9 E& w. @/ l$ b/ n: B2 x: zMilton 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.
: W6 M5 _6 H" r: f! B7 l: s) u
( G/ ]$ ]5 W$ g+ @; w人在德国 社区
1 A0 _  `8 y- J3 Q& srs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
* j" D! ~  _* Z( ]' l  @With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.
0 E/ \1 p& g& Y& @9 [人在德国 社区3 F' F% f' i# t1 P! `# }" u

3 k5 r4 m; Q; oHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 5 x/ A! t' K5 h4 @( X1 ]
- m8 ]1 g4 A( k  K2 [! m
. b6 X& A# c" K) D

( U! o8 Z1 y* d/ uContrary 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