[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。1 h" s1 P+ K, q" L& J7 q+ w4 o0 c

7 i6 u6 l0 Y, Q5 |人在德国 社区rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de+ O+ q: g8 Z3 r3 m$ I# @$ Z* s( U

9 }( p5 h% }6 c: N5 D6 [3 d$ ~; Q; q- P) |: s
　　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.de5 z) i$ Y& R3 F
人在德国 社区7 V9 w: Q% C  T1 _$ N
　　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。rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de! g7 x3 ?' z! y  T

8 E$ f" C- g0 X! j+ c& V! I
. D7 I3 |0 v  h8 [3 qJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.
7 O+ }+ \, j3 Y人在德国 社区, `* w, U  d5 Q$ I% q, l& u
/ V( i, L  V' p# j
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.$ O- D; p! B3 l8 ]0 s" M+ z/ u
* e/ X$ o' z4 e9 y6 R

) I, U) D, g( y: }( g9 [# M$ c( G人在德国 社区
* K' t; @9 \; q; C+ K+ NMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. ! j5 M) g: N5 l5 \6 I5 A0 J2 d

; z' ?- b/ y  w: o
: W5 r' ^1 a* S+ _' @+ U$ f+ U" E- a  HThe Expat Exodus
, }1 V& H, ?+ F- i/ o9 p* {& ~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. 1 a, ?" V* r4 B, b: g

3 M2 V9 ~( E& U8 p+ O1 ?% L, f rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de. }, S! S, w/ u1 L

  d2 Y! r. [0 p6 tEmigration
& X" ]! c4 J4 Q3 B, G人在德国 社区Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 1 L* n1 P" i8 ~8 r$ K" C0 ~

" k$ }- |- V  j5 V8 ]rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de ! @& ?9 k6 V1 }
　　《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( {. V8 C: V% C+ S) F, B' m

$ I( Y. J" Q* {$ b人在德国 社区　　《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。
) z8 v! |# M9 u6 p; J  \9 P6 p
  I4 d' U- Z- Z( t8 r: S

日月光

, K. ~" g" z6 A) B/ v% L0 c9 Q' q8 h
The People's Liberation Army 0 Q8 M" c+ f$ P. X
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. , {7 A0 O" z  a& n. E( o  |
; a$ `+ b. u6 y6 k7 x( o

! E. @# j, t1 `2 O& A" c6 y; k/ i" ~. X" Y3 [" n  z4 ~
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: j. g* o, k( z7 r$ E

" Y3 R* \1 o7 Y+ \5 C* O' |0 r8 N! [" z) L$ N* ^

# T+ t: J& T+ e* g) L9 Z3 s- `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/ _) o8 B# z$ Vrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de  f8 A$ G/ v& U: @: p

% }6 b  z% }& `7 G- t7 {1 v5 p
; F* y1 Y7 b% M3 ?+ H* KWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.
4 d8 O2 J: A2 a1 G人在德国 社区6 K  I; {1 g' m* d

; g8 q- p, E& h7 |" @Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions.
3 J$ t3 G% v5 O# k
( q: ~  ]3 b6 I4 u- v$ U人在德国 社区rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de% K5 p7 X; v& ~  s

( q% }/ q( ]) O7 X3 G  QContrary to dire predictions, Hong Kong hasn't yet lost its economic edge to cheaper cities on the mainland or to cleaner, more orderly Singapore.