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。 & X1 T7 \, p* l ( r. Q# e1 @5 M# q% _7 J, e, P6 K$ q1 Y8 P+ O7 w5 m" R8 e. T
; ~% l! f( ^, g4 R# R- j * g! h( _* e4 E1 r 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。6 m# O4 T3 U- Q. f5 Y1 k
! j2 }6 r7 [+ S# e 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。 ) S4 r6 q, S, x/ j4 q5 B5 _0 h 8 Y. p, A9 ~7 h+ G 0 V7 q* J. l6 g6 ?5 y July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. 8 Z! }4 a. [" x; k+ w & q; i4 q) D: J ( }5 G, V' v( tFeb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed by Beijing in 1997 to serve as Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader, is reelected. 7 Y) E3 x/ C- ]+ a" n; {! t* p6 r; \4 v, A, G8 @
: \" V6 h4 b( l) C% p+ x |8 N* O5 N+ ~7 O) n+ { March 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health. x+ W% A* d* d' m+ A/ O
2 b& c- H v$ R. I5 }# a4 i9 U ! B* {5 Y K& Z' N5 d' Z9 R3 k& mThe Expat Exodus & c$ e- [- y; o3 [" `. {
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 f! L1 P3 v, x4 k8 b 6 l0 y/ W; {) ~6 G4 A# u% @6 q 1 w/ g/ B1 l/ C# J; }; I( p& n5 d" P 4 {' k. h- I, h7 z: @, g Emigration 2 z1 X7 E1 S: x2 B& bJittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. 6 u8 z3 _) S+ I1 L5 @
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《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。5 i( b0 n h. j3 i
2 A7 ^ N0 I4 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。8 C) z2 o$ h% v$ o& h# t a& M
* G6 w# z) _& P% \5 R. ~7 m$ f: B 作者: 日月光 时间: 2007-6-9 08:41
. G/ Q4 Q# Z- o6 S) B! TThe People's Liberation Army A: W, w. Z. ^& a9 ^
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. $ x4 r2 A, G" O' a6 D6 @$ g ]6 X, B4 R2 ?3 w
' [$ {0 \. ~0 ^7 S " n' w0 I7 Z+ v4 C- _6 h8 M: J9 CVictoria 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. . @- ?/ E7 d( \5 i( F
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) `! w$ u7 s# J9 a; |8 K & Z$ {/ x6 T0 y' `2 VMilton 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. 5 H% P7 f" q0 |6 W 7 @! q( ?( j3 d 1 Z. x! w) p( R6 m. E$ C8 j+ W 7 h& N2 S6 |) B/ W3 fWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover. % l& m% P4 u( I3 ^# H8 D) S8 K 1 K* G4 N7 l7 I" L: }" d9 m" m 2 H9 ^3 r0 f9 H; XHong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. ) t7 g5 Z8 |" `* t4 x; E$ ]
' r+ i/ P/ e9 o# M. N: ~9 N2 C' ]5 d9 ?8 X' M; d 6 j2 B1 \# c, a: w4 o& tContrary 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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