[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。
, ]7 s, c% a. S: M8 y9 q# q4 ~rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
( u) B" [5 S) p. krs238848.rs.hosteurope.de: c# g) z; ~% r

  F3 E# T- ^7 Q3 |1 X3 S5 t
2 Z2 ], s, s1 x2 [  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。* r$ O5 W# e, }* L5 l  A8 y

: L+ t7 A: [; W- Irs238848.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。8 A; V7 ]) g) x' w, S, M

) q2 _9 ?1 F% K! S8 J% ?& P4 {rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de2 r& ^- u1 a" j4 \  L
July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.) _( |8 |  q8 ^7 g
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de  w& {3 ^, S- r2 o
人在德国 社区7 z% w( W, c- t( J$ N$ h% 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.人在德国 社区2 p: v& H9 [: G

5 p$ n! S$ A- M人在德国 社区+ b0 c% k) w( c. L8 R( t
2 h/ j- [! o4 A( s  b7 |
March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health.
' y+ u  |9 U6 k- N: e7 @* a人在德国 社区( I/ E. M- b: `6 b
9 @. M' w& Y' d  M0 U  f# U
The Expat Exodus $ [! Y3 T. Z2 U4 C
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.
- {- g2 V# ?# ]* a+ U7 W4 b & d( X2 ]  f4 ^7 S$ k
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de3 O* j: v1 a9 t( H8 G
; B5 c6 u  Q" g2 U$ S9 S4 u) ?1 R- N
Emigration 7 A4 g4 n/ y  g; b& b  |
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 2 K5 D6 L% O4 M8 j. `( }1 k! U) P2 `% \
0 t8 k9 U( i/ H9 a; _' r/ K

' y  O0 L$ B4 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。& S6 c; l6 @9 J8 R3 R1 J9 W
5 }. [( g5 k" h' L" 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。7 t3 x* f1 W# {. ~/ v5 N
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de' b& H0 |$ E" f" m, Z( k( L


* z8 g) H% R; W1 B( aThe People's Liberation Army
% ^1 Y; g; f) d1 \9 A" nrs238848.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. rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de4 R* e6 V# t" v( x- `& M
人在德国 社区3 C! U- y! L" {
% I8 L, T, V; o: R1 x' n9 w' y

+ a0 c: Y& C" Y2 p8 `! Brs238848.rs.hosteurope.deVictoria 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% Z* e5 C& {5 C

* @. {$ X2 [# d
- m8 T' O  @6 v6 }% F. C
4 R: S' u% z, |7 d) Ars238848.rs.hosteurope.deMilton 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.
" b9 z7 T6 v, E5 l
& {0 Y: P' A: g) S/ o2 d  H
9 T  P( g4 h# y. Irs238848.rs.hosteurope.de/ d  z; |. K) ?8 I/ N8 `
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover., j' d& w8 D5 |* X4 L9 A
# V+ \  u5 g! j0 `/ p& ~& S! s
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de4 M8 a' ^* a; x" n& G! M' q
Hong 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" B6 W' t+ {: x! j# \
6 H/ n. E% i7 b" g3 o
0 H' W. T# U7 K) \+ T. v

0 ^' c! _/ ^# s2 W* n0 }1 eContrary 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