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。 * F0 P/ z" V H& d7 h3 _9 t, s + t# F- R/ p2 C; C% J; z 6 |3 j' Y- I' D0 N+ y# S$ S+ C% C+ @2 a+ N- q4 |. n
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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。2 P, p. i2 P2 O; }* j w* R0 ~
3 N! L7 `, {0 z 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。 " m- d' b3 l+ p/ ^: n & t, y* m, M' n9 N0 J; l- [) @# O3 ?, h" T July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.# Q1 \7 X/ w. `5 e, [# J" \ n
$ D6 }( e- m4 G % h! z! t6 e' S+ EFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. - `* j/ a7 J9 L* }( T. [. L+ \: g, \/ D3 g9 O, ]* M2 K
0 f2 r/ k! d+ Q) L7 D- { : _7 Y& W* W* Y2 e8 I March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. % [1 ^* X" N( z6 O' s
/ k6 L$ K X A+ [5 F: E+ }6 z - r: k! y; ?$ B1 g: S1 { The Expat Exodus 3 u: p9 Q+ W0 B5 o. V" bOn 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. ' K" G; U% p: @( i
) y8 w: {9 d/ \1 Q3 @7 S 9 l) ~2 H- {& u" i x% b% o& C2 N- r Emigration / S7 E3 y: e+ a. ?Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 7 ^. X9 ~. z. s1 P( i* w K! O& E a! a$ \' U9 ~
' ^2 p' V- Z( P0 r/ V0 ^4 r 《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。 3 R8 q W* S9 ?& z2 i 9 F8 T- g& J9 S o4 _* H6 E( \; u$ p
《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。0 J. K( @$ Y) r q
! C d" @0 w X6 n6 B g 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
8 e; ]* ?8 I- i" P& a, i) Q$ e The People's Liberation Army % h' r! a+ e" v eA 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. / m" v' A0 R- ` - f# ?- [, L/ w1 I$ s: ] : V; s% \0 u! G9 g1 p 0 ~1 f4 d, f* F3 X- E+ w, l! E0 t0 QVictoria 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. 1 r7 z6 _' }: Z, ^. E! N! {
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, n( |) [) Y; I0 t( T' _, g* A . ^9 I/ S2 L$ U' K+ P: E% AMilton 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. ! C! a% _* T# c% m, P( b& y1 }) n8 ~3 ?
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With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. 7 K9 w% s; `" s 6 _) O9 n# ~ {( ]5 E8 H " R2 |2 a) x/ K3 X8 THong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. , T" ^7 f% f" J: y1 y, R+ ~5 [! t3 I; N2 D
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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.
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