[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。6 w3 c, t2 `+ V6 W: l
人在德国 社区. G2 [9 X- B  _( k5 V' I' u

; G6 @: Z# K0 Q; Zrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de3 D' s) \: V. n9 A2 W( j9 t  a

: f8 T/ y  N4 Z0 ^  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。
7 ^/ t5 s6 G  `; x& \* brs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
- F0 c$ {, s8 _6 v  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。
9 O) e# X% b5 W4 d% c7 d( A
7 T: J4 V/ }, U) ^9 `* a- b- ^rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
3 L8 e: J8 f8 Z+ t# K$ O& E人在德国 社区July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.
* V& q( N+ v' U+ i: s
( t, K* A6 y5 p; ^# B  C( Y% ]7 |5 d- j7 ?! X9 C1 _8 [8 \: [! }& M
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.
( \9 B; e; @( F6 a1 F  j
, a, a* Y4 J' n8 E$ e/ y5 R5 e
; x7 V  s0 B7 z# X3 O* [/ ?5 \
# D  N' B! `9 n0 d% a2 kMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 3 @8 o7 r7 E4 l' ?: |  T5 M+ U, C4 j

% x, u4 l6 W0 L9 V6 G$ W: R7 Y' Z% [3 t+ x6 c4 `& Z1 G0 [
The Expat Exodus 2 g8 T4 _" z' b! e
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. : d) B! L' ^1 t' v! H! Z7 g
6 J5 ]$ M$ n; P4 i+ u; D

  k4 }8 |0 m# F4 r! w
% y& @8 _1 z; e  w人在德国 社区Emigration 人在德国 社区- c  {" \. q. [( M" S1 D
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de6 X1 ^2 z: O1 k

4 s  f# F( k8 H) Z+ d7 X
8 M% m* }! Z3 f2 ]2 Y! D$ H9 K- drs238848.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。8 h9 B, {" n7 P0 Z$ z) U

" p) k" t- \( [  《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。
6 [( L+ [4 x' |/ `
5 E- ?8 [, D; Q# D, }, E
Share |
Share


8 i  l5 a! s. ]# [0 u0 @" q  h) gThe People's Liberation Army
) d) m5 h/ D- g, j6 xrs238848.rs.hosteurope.deA 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. , L& ~, u$ @' P9 P5 X+ P. m' {
* D* V/ _1 j+ _: @8 t
/ V) l- J, c6 r8 ?
8 U. u% x2 h: V  j. l
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9 k5 a6 {5 Y/ j" J5 ?3 a. O
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de0 B% x! J) K% d) a( o0 p
7 j/ L2 t. M" n! D. E' R
4 U) l& X  H  Y" o/ T
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. 9 Y8 d! R. H0 I6 u- ]2 Z# }
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de0 i) `$ r! X6 {: ]% r

' |# J& }2 T% ~1 zrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
- p7 N! }9 u: W4 {With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.
% W. }2 X" c$ [- q" M; S
% b( c) D* z. a1 q1 Q
1 H- r! a9 [, W' o) Y2 ?% THong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions.
* X9 M/ D' e0 Q& W
- O  V; {0 ?4 e/ w  p人在德国 社区
  ]2 b* m' i6 T- Z6 x9 F2 G! @" U! _. V1 {
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