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 e# H6 ^. ]5 J$ O7 ] 2 T" M5 p; X- u$ l5 z) E* f2 k N2 i F8 c
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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。% @, V; t0 q% F4 U0 i) F
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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 C& Z6 g9 L9 _" J : L& ?- U8 Y5 Y- a . N6 t( o) U% y* y* f9 \July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. / P9 R2 v: B- x1 r1 V' A9 \9 A 5 e# E" q' z# [4 G5 c; O8 y$ f, z1 Z) M* r4 q 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.; `6 ^' l2 A) R, s' J, d3 {
. ?& ^# y$ N1 |, e* `( p 4 X/ I% g4 L" C4 ]& B9 L7 K* d8 U/ W' G March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. / s9 o, n2 a0 m6 Y& [. {+ `$ h" p0 @
) e, u" |% D0 B4 E & ?5 [4 |" T! @+ F: j( K! G The Expat Exodus 7 d, [1 S. \+ ~2 @9 W9 Y
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. 0 ]+ Z0 m" w1 _# Z, s
& P. |# p# J, d2 k- ?8 I5 Q$ F$ d 0 v" a% I* n6 E& D8 d' A + j" H3 K3 U6 K7 D$ EEmigration - @3 C! B2 g! U( i9 l) v
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ) Z; r9 V. D6 t& m0 K# z , J' o( _* H& P/ Y 2 J- i+ y& q$ v- e
《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。 8 c( {/ _- v; X3 V0 [" S6 H : P, G$ G. l) ]! M& U 《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 y* j1 n+ A+ v" d" R, M b
* l% p' Q6 z5 Q; L* U8 l+ u9 B8 u 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
- T, a5 j+ C! k, `The People's Liberation Army ; M( x- V4 H$ p rA 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. ( F1 ]! ^5 P9 X8 T! m4 q7 ~( T+ t+ h1 S3 B$ }0 s; w( |7 e1 q
^( F8 x6 f! g2 Z. R6 t0 ^ / @4 E& W' t% rVictoria 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. ) b: B5 ?' q$ L6 c . R8 S8 ]( k6 L* p7 h X4 m * x) v+ g# w; d: Q3 s A# y ! G0 U2 f m. QMilton 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. 7 e" d2 i9 {( O" b7 K7 o6 k: v
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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.0 E- @, F4 H8 @: K! k" B' X# p
; p( C6 f8 g4 X# n ' M, H8 z, ~% H; MHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 2 ~% L' P0 B5 g; f) [+ w) 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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