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。 " V$ o' R7 g& `! Q1 c/ }. @# g # b, Q& s1 `0 g0 \* L+ O / w1 O `8 l; p 6 j0 L; A5 }, k7 V; O0 y$ w( j. b9 X8 ^$ W1 a& `
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。 / a8 F' Q$ R& {/ }5 [1 g 0 y! l8 W7 {& C+ o 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。 % B7 U$ g( W8 v n2 n& L/ |( A 5 }2 A, y2 b* |0 L 2 H' a: |( a5 _8 H' Z- F July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong." ?/ F% S3 W& U: F; H' c" O" g
. w" [* V* I! l/ p8 w3 D 9 T0 [ t1 Y$ {; R5 kFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 1 z- E1 `$ h6 Q7 L6 ]& l9 \2 {7 m# @6 m3 l+ A' h3 D* @# M- v
' D; M/ a) Z" y# I! @) H z t. o+ C( i3 K" H9 ` March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. + e G8 \/ D" u& ?8 V# t ; V A1 W* O9 I {- A& [ 3 H8 K' |5 D4 \" lThe Expat Exodus 1 [ ]# o' j4 \. } L- w, b
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. ) U/ \$ T# j& X , f2 V; B8 y$ ]
, Z. W% [3 F9 } ) l' o* D: W4 g0 }( AEmigration ! i* N2 R/ Q: f
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 6 S" A1 ]$ W, ~& H& [: ^3 E+ m. ] 2 `( v" P7 {0 s# U& ^ 6 [, h% h, U/ t 《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 S5 q; W* f" K# S- K $ n5 X1 M S6 P* [, z9 `$ v- Y2 |
《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。% d. d/ v. P( O5 i5 Y1 L
& V, b5 y5 i, R4 @& h 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
& F* l! i# K! r& t6 ~& d The People's Liberation Army & V( |- y J+ y1 c1 XA 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. ! l/ u9 }2 C* U$ X! I/ S
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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. 2 P g: l; K* e, ?1 E( a
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9 _; K& M+ T& L! p( I 6 ?4 s+ i4 A' s$ I( [Milton 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. . B$ @3 Y1 H4 m: | r' ], a 3 ~1 r. ?& \, M+ h7 f: o6 l. R" t1 \9 } 6 i8 u. F' v* i& i4 _, `( v
With its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.( h; Q, w7 l) `$ T. j- ^9 K
+ @2 R2 U/ a% E3 Z2 Z : H/ D( f% Q7 eHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 7 P- b- J/ F( E4 B, m& c9 S5 j$ b
7 U- F% c, S$ {! s& q+ F$ L9 M s# h3 f6 c( i1 f; \3 DContrary 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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