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! Z: |' d, D( I. B% I 0 d- k, W+ r# C- Z- _* q0 O T $ l% H6 ]; r: F0 A0 [0 Y% C4 h" m4 J7 {, W: l: I
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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。# U! [; ^! b. l+ a$ y( m# u
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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。 ( p) {) [2 f$ B' [ 4 E3 A6 \- v! w' G : b: o) Z3 W" MJuly 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.& D1 i1 k9 C$ u& l3 R
4 l# J5 ^9 b* [! j5 L: L 3 q& j' V k9 ]9 S$ F* bFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected.5 Y. X6 Z' R8 W; J; C6 M# x- u
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2 W q" f! i8 I- L! W8 @% \+ p 7 U% T% ?( c1 s. y; o: Y March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. - ^; p' V/ c2 |& \$ v3 B' E $ Q- u4 g# l7 O% k3 s# o ( _6 V+ f+ C' W" z1 S8 ]; ^The Expat Exodus ( h+ {/ W% O$ r) V& A
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. % g" y& m# L( }! H" t$ I& P. |2 A7 j
) I: F1 D8 l4 X5 w4 |0 [& n : }. h9 A. d, ?( M2 V x3 C 4 j) F( K: Y# Q b/ [ Emigration + [7 i8 d& \9 CJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 3 n% l2 u6 \/ F# K% X( V2 c 9 P1 H$ `2 E4 E* |. Z. P4 V - s3 t( l: T1 @7 k/ `( |* f' ~0 A( 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。- {* V P( z8 R0 I
+ `; U3 O7 M* q$ d' b+ W 《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。 0 o& w* y( U$ `4 b ! |# M ^0 I: [) v1 G作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
0 @) `8 Z0 _, W. C% j+ A The People's Liberation Army 0 E- K; d, {2 ]0 _
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. B. l' O: Q- L8 e9 H$ Z $ E/ P$ a6 i6 p) S7 p $ P( [2 b$ L+ b8 P: e4 E' X& k# W2 F1 v
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. 8 M, I" m4 X# o, h8 D6 E
9 v! @9 T$ q. N* e5 a5 C* i. L2 \5 W9 Q6 y( ^' z* P 8 G" _ K4 x, m0 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. + W: |: _7 @. j9 g* l % q O0 k1 d, L9 Z& D L: c 3 Y/ \ Y" v- A, x; V5 u4 [ . i4 \, `* G3 k& dWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover., N, E ?9 n& r; c" A$ i
5 w5 M3 B" A" w! V 9 b: U$ n; u7 Y( t2 n5 m' s, s3 O0 l" f1 JHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 2 D2 ~% H7 c; a" ]! x8 m8 ~, A# c% [2 r) j
# L' l: J: M" b: p% g: z0 g 2 w8 s7 q/ |2 T# V7 QContrary 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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