[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。
2 e! z5 A. I. U4 X
6 S' b2 I0 U9 \: y+ L; i* r, _
! i# T( ]8 b; x8 R, l5 R" P3 `9 C+ @7 I) Z/ h* M- e
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de7 e3 {, D% l  u
　　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。$ P0 b' ?( A/ C9 F5 ~% ?# X
人在德国 社区: `1 _( B- K2 z; R) t; q
　　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。
! ~- B6 L) t. u  t$ _ 8 v+ J  P# v7 Q1 Y
7 `0 V! I" O& E# j$ {8 J# ~& V
July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.人在德国 社区/ U/ F6 M$ ]7 Y8 h8 L

9 i: F! g& o0 o& A1 d, }
0 D+ O9 r; u; n! I! e- bFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.+ x2 P) S+ n0 h" r
1 _! y: V, T( j3 K0 o3 o

5 h# F/ ~0 v- x' k$ b
( Z4 l5 L( ~0 |3 I, B7 I& LMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 6 H- v+ ~9 W3 F0 d% ]/ x& q

2 k$ V+ \1 _+ ]% Y' O4 ~! z  o: |/ Z: I/ e( ]: F/ z- a# i
The Expat Exodus 人在德国 社区% I+ K; w1 x& s# `8 D( l6 m
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.
2 _& C  Q+ K7 G+ s 人在德国 社区' f% i9 N& p" h/ m0 v- X: p
人在德国 社区4 g6 T* \/ A: f% s+ P. O0 }
: P5 c0 ~, R% @/ o4 h) h& ^, e8 R
Emigration
( Z" n0 [) X( {6 O* ]& Z/ oJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. - n& i6 X8 a2 y8 G

1 |) l- J# C2 u5 |   F9 J2 a" ]! |7 U& X, {. \
　　《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.de* l2 X9 M5 b$ p- x5 w3 U7 E* _$ o
9 m6 h3 _2 s, A9 p8 V- Y% |% m4 h
　　《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。8 H7 ?" F! f" G) ^) \8 b3 f: s
* W7 c6 N! I' t1 o+ `2 Q( O$ X

日月光

人在德国 社区9 [- j/ v* Y' l& e# h; @+ h
The People's Liberation Army & c/ J  ~3 Q% v7 W  D0 I7 [
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.
, G) [8 d. S! a+ b2 k5 [' V6 N# P3 c+ g" ]6 O. Z

6 e6 S: S4 X5 a# k9 c
1 T: f1 H# a. ~, c人在德国 社区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.
- u5 {* D. ]9 {8 p; d人在德国 社区
6 e9 ~" Q5 b" R1 q( h' urs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
- z4 Z$ M8 t0 I# t( B
3 {& b8 v( g, K1 KMilton 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.
- I9 N& ]0 e2 v- ^+ M& A& Frs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
+ u& n: x4 E. m0 b1 x# R' }4 z& e8 [rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de
1 p4 O; h$ K4 K. `! F$ |. J. n0 A: Q; p$ V% y
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.
1 h# Q* U- N& p) e7 w: E+ {
, a" S/ N$ k+ B% }# F# m/ m1 C人在德国 社区
& J  `, o+ x- y( N( t* yHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions.
/ C( S( L) |2 J& d* J4 E; w& E3 x9 Q1 w' _
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de+ z6 s) H6 x. `) n3 D" W

, N4 B+ o# ]& W: vContrary to dire predictions, Hong Kong hasn't yet lost its economic edge to cheaper cities on the mainland or to cleaner, more orderly Singapore.