[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 U* o7 S- Q+ N
7 `" h! j, u6 o6 f; f7 \% J5 U# }

% J  V) \) B* Y9 f' G( v7 X/ l2 }; t5 _0 V; n' U0 b( E
* W" o' Y0 }4 P! T* P- n  l/ P% Q* N
　　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。人在德国 社区$ e9 }9 @3 `6 {3 [2 n; `4 q* f/ X6 [3 Z

5 Y! ?- D3 P) P- d/ B) }rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de　　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 D; K! _$ T( y) D( i! Y) f2 m 9 L# E- d) K% i/ J1 \0 O

* S! D9 h2 D4 N4 T$ [+ DJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.
, Z# q2 _- c4 y' t& N# y3 i/ Ors238848.rs.hosteurope.ders238848.rs.hosteurope.de- V4 X  {* U8 O0 S! B& t+ u
人在德国 社区" ^1 j. }  K- H: t: s
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.
$ n8 D) G: d7 |人在德国 社区rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de- }0 W6 L) F. [0 A/ P
& e- D5 m. `  L$ Q7 s3 S) n9 V
# J8 [& ~2 g& n
March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de& C' }* a# R; `' M8 M
9 D( Y8 F! I1 _3 i9 i. f6 T9 ^

* Q3 y4 j, b6 U' GThe Expat Exodus
# u: Q: Y2 [: G8 r; Q" FOn 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.
; V: ]$ }( ?" B; c: `8 f
2 e% S% `& ^/ O! T6 f9 w7 _
& q. F9 L5 |) B3 H. B人在德国 社区
& }5 U9 A. D2 K# q! mEmigration ' E" r: Z0 u' J2 f# x/ i
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover.
- U8 y; P* o/ I% p: q9 `. i " h$ W# R3 R$ k3 U- a  Z
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de- c5 O' o* P* c5 H# }  D4 J+ B9 s
　　《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。rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de2 _/ [# G6 R$ A5 k* c
; G3 n9 t. D) N7 x
　　《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。rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de+ _: E/ `& T8 d0 c- a! z
" I; z8 y0 b$ h- x+ U9 @! v. O

日月光

; ?- O) e4 y! T  {9 cThe People's Liberation Army
+ K$ i0 C3 D: P5 ]1 frs238848.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.
$ F" P% a. D: [+ y% w+ {rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de% @! g7 y* p& c) N0 I# F5 s

' k5 E/ A3 r2 i( }rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
4 G2 }+ B# y% f$ [& U9 NVictoria 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. 6 V5 v  {8 J7 c4 Z9 W3 C  V! W

% |6 k- p( Y3 I& k% a; L3 U+ c/ C5 h4 |
, r% ]7 f: t5 i$ e" n
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. 4 i$ y9 I! l( N

( j6 P, s3 r; {0 x2 R1 d人在德国 社区
: T' `5 @& [/ l3 Z0 s# {
  @+ M. Q4 P+ r" y# _6 zWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.
: {) I. x) J/ ~$ n% N3 V人在德国 社区9 A! T3 v' i) s% x, O3 x; C

) s8 m* P2 U/ f% G* h; ars238848.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.
% s! W0 }+ q$ C; P
% q* [* ]8 Z# ]* a0 H7 J, a
% q" B: U( B; \' Z- l. r: V- I
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.