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。 ) x; L; m) }7 H9 F 0 Z. z. X; B% d# o ; K6 \% s- V, ^- R% s6 } - _8 e9 C& S) p M# z+ E/ H1 `5 X
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。 ; d0 _0 f9 a- ^2 z 7 `) Z3 U7 k {5 M( I& 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。9 ~: C/ x' Z( B9 X i
' L/ W# Q/ `7 C. Q y' h4 l; Z5 _ ! p2 O/ O- G d, @- k. V( IJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.( S) V! c# V" |$ ~) d
, N2 q9 U" j$ s; M* _ $ p3 B# ]3 @2 UFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected./ I3 p& g4 u8 J% ]
2 H2 Y; c- [0 e9 c3 p9 C. ]$ J5 S) N. Q& q$ U) J * ] G; {( @ S7 c; K" p1 U0 VMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. 2 Z7 f, a6 _8 M/ U: }+ O; C: ~7 h$ ^. a& D/ ?$ \0 I* ? ) N8 Q* f; o8 @The Expat Exodus . i D9 t6 R3 N; g' S% dOn 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. 7 b( g/ `3 _$ ?
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Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. : d0 t$ h9 q3 T 4 v. I5 S" }, B: A' ]" X; g
4 u+ k5 C' \3 l \, j 《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 e/ W5 \! \4 k ' M% d- a' z5 L: F4 y9 t. I
《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。, I1 k; C# ~. a% i
. ]9 a% g( \2 `& ]/ r8 g9 V 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
, ~4 _$ v: T# f The People's Liberation Army / n4 M/ C5 a( m' w9 q7 i3 S
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. $ ^9 s' @5 o7 A! y6 f$ ~
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. x1 y$ a/ k, Q9 L) w E( ? + \- s" Y- |4 S% r+ ^( yVictoria 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. 4 r9 z8 N0 \ i' U& t$ @# S2 z
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( @* q3 m( I. b, ~! O, I0 C 9 k& N0 e s5 E$ A% a# s3 l. wMilton 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 X0 { Y2 E: D' [# z" F
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5 e3 M, e: q8 P \8 f* N : `% ~$ x/ [, w6 z2 G2 YWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. ' f. X% M/ Y( h/ L, K5 W& ]9 k( Z, T: L+ R - E( Q f/ K3 y, J7 rHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 3 @6 V T5 P* r( h E6 B
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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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