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。% F1 @) V& G; v0 ^6 ^
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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。9 ]- n# K: |/ p
9 ? l6 [& z5 O: R6 ^ 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。: E, p" y0 z& ~- }
, [; B1 |" Y: ~8 R0 D ( A% P% o! }4 {: N6 q& |: ` July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 4 X* T! N: [! t/ S. m# @1 u3 x5 ^; w ~% d V" p# k3 E: P% R6 H2 Z 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. : h; w7 K5 J8 }9 \ O; a0 O# L M* v, [/ E% a; g8 L- w. H3 d9 P
. E7 S7 V/ `5 M1 P. g( _) n ; ]8 l8 I& ^' w8 p; f March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. + j5 D$ u9 V3 ^! M+ C7 u* d4 r) J% u- s" p9 }7 D- s% A6 n : i4 ~ { w/ \ The Expat Exodus " z1 V, B3 G$ m" q1 n
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. 5 x2 M/ _5 {" m: z* ` 9 T# I7 z& h/ Y) { 7 `% U5 T& w1 T. ] 6 w* Z. f+ i2 `. z) n$ vEmigration ( W8 R" W- g T' U& P; ~% s
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. ' u3 K3 x, q) h8 h7 N: `. | ; @3 T2 o- t# {4 s 8 L2 t- ]- G+ [! e; b 《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。 1 M+ y3 K2 d( k2 ^3 R/ j* L( d0 u & b: m' w/ f# X0 J 《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。* [/ T, z% {; b2 K7 y$ [# r% c
7 O7 V T) V! A4 [+ c5 D 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
! {; |4 Q$ T+ S3 ^1 DThe People's Liberation Army . W: @: W+ ?# p) m. h1 B
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. 5 V. k* r4 i7 l. ~/ S- Q' E
% I U; l( m- x/ j' N2 A. t% G ( t q& I0 R" a/ O0 e) Z 9 { `9 C; ^3 S: F+ b- OVictoria 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. * \. j# v' f" ?. a3 K( j" ^ W9 K' f- m, o `
4 j$ X/ Q$ O; U6 e$ ? 6 O X: {8 j+ q6 O# r: C( tMilton 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. # w$ L6 E7 T9 r: L! r, r/ p9 `
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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. ) u" w) ?) z+ }# q6 z% b5 p / K) U+ c6 Y4 J# _2 @9 y5 O7 R' ` ( A( Q' j5 ^+ Y6 h% G7 |! rHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 0 I" d5 s" z8 s. G* c4 D3 ?
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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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