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。 & n! _4 k. I4 I; g ! O/ @: A" L7 }; |2 [2 \+ ~% B# e & A9 {% g& S% P2 E2 V" z
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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。; a$ E0 M2 t) V, w1 T9 B4 o4 u7 Z9 K
. c- X/ s/ m* p7 y/ ]3 ]! x 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。 - e2 I% _) I3 ?/ l3 j( w * l( f- Q1 C( _* M* s5 u2 L# Y6 ]5 `: {5 T' V& x8 h- U$ Z July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.! e) t% V% W! ~2 a- z
! @. P% |4 \- ?" G5 w& `5 p! ` . p l( e: w9 D3 N5 X4 LFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 9 E/ a8 @/ v+ n 5 O2 k; L% }* `" L% O# k9 y U5 j5 z( a; `0 N( E ' C( Z+ Y) q3 Y0 ]6 e March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. * M& X# q4 j7 f4 m* }- g: }
$ L- L: c: t: O ' x, I- }6 G9 v7 O2 s( JThe Expat Exodus 2 [" p4 L9 z$ J+ G% H- S
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 a! B& O& R. l$ v4 ~5 Y
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' `& F/ j% L: ?" D: v' q% N1 A7 n0 ]' K( O, i& L, |" P Emigration $ S2 ^7 I0 F1 j7 mJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 2 Z0 s! k3 U# ~8 M* I 6 l. F# c; c! ?! O
$ x8 b8 B9 l: g* W8 k 《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。 ' S/ c) o1 p/ {& f! [! [ 8 ?% G a. [+ W4 L6 R) T
《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。( H/ ?! J+ o) _. C! ~; G, `
3 [! J4 }$ v4 G; k- \ 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
2 R' g# O% A: N* o$ z7 ^The People's Liberation Army - s& R! H$ U1 ^8 A% z: h9 }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. - W2 P: s, ~' c9 w7 R " F% p( g4 ?2 m& @6 w% ?9 s, [4 w U7 b2 I T0 T/ T% [% d- N+ N3 J # Z- n% P" g' l' d6 O4 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. " q) J, X; f0 [: B+ ?. ?, f* S, {6 C# q6 q5 U
! {- T0 m2 t1 N3 F7 G; r* k 3 O! R: B+ _1 ?# i fMilton 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 S* r" e# V, v3 y* e8 ^( w
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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.- n% k' b* p, ^# J2 g
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Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. # ~; \: E2 }8 U( m9 |* G # d2 V9 M7 o& p4 P- C$ f' @7 j d$ a6 z & o: M0 A8 N; V+ Y! T7 B) CContrary 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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