[国际新闻] 《时代》25页篇幅认错：回归没令香港死亡

日月光

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。
/ }  G; s, m! @: A+ u4 A: P 4 q2 O9 u6 c3 |: G' o; O8 [4 h

6 z/ A- f0 o4 [3 b+ e; H/ ?  M" B4 ]% e- S3 M- i; u/ [1 p
人在德国 社区; R, _( B8 j2 L  ?+ 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。  q0 V. X: A. |5 C

% Y  }9 a4 P/ y, z) 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。www.csuchen.de* F0 M" i1 q3 t9 r# f
0 w( k1 D2 \+ J
2 I! `# e# x! w& p4 b. C3 \
July 1, 1997: After 156 years of British rule, China resumes sovereignty over Hong Kong.8 |. M+ F4 K; \3 A4 t6 D2 h6 m. y
& Y. _: @3 ~, f3 \$ g  N
' h% H, u. z$ n) Z" o
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./ e% Q  w7 l* K, i9 a# Z$ Y

/ k7 X2 ~, o: l  Iwww.csuchen.de. H+ [1 N) F; h9 y8 I

9 R- P+ o4 [8 G+ G7 M4 `, Lwww.csuchen.deMarch 10, 2005: After weeks of rumors, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa abruptly resigns, citing his declining health.
+ u2 q/ G& I2 c+ p& `% i0 N
9 n5 ?# [7 k$ N1 u6 h
) L+ G# B. F3 m- N( k+ {" y1 wThe Expat Exodus 9 b6 d1 q  q. i/ f' V4 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. " ~: z8 j7 Z" t! l$ P

& S: p( _, R- X* d2 {+ lwww.csuchen.de
1 I" q8 m8 Q. n2 C
- T* C# f5 ~( i, REmigration 8 o/ T0 D& L4 A5 B/ d
Jittery about political crackdowns and economic slowdown, thousands of Hong Kong residents left town in the years before the handover. * x' N+ a- W. S" N% l6 f% |( K
8 h5 k# L5 b" R, A: J  I
人在德国 社区7 d* l: p) B4 @& p5 P* a- m8 X
　　《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。www.csuchen.de- y5 q, ]& I4 Q5 K; ?5 F; ^
人在德国 社区" f7 P% T6 ~& `2 ?
　　《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。www.csuchen.de* Z/ t, O+ D$ j  `5 o: H: |/ K0 u
人在德国 社区( p6 g5 H0 e+ `, q' {

日月光

. P. [2 C& u4 g2 ?/ k
The People's Liberation Army + x  n7 f8 p" n- o
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. / _1 ^& M/ |& W8 H! w

3 z/ U& ?( r. b+ l  ~2 v8 W" gwww.csuchen.de' c- A& x# r# v4 T' c

& t& r0 ]2 Y9 J9 e9 b) r. T, |, c; mVictoria 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.
) G% ?/ s7 P( Q( V  v* hwww.csuchen.dewww.csuchen.de! e' q$ l1 N. k+ v$ x; e( y
人在德国 社区8 m& i$ M- X5 y0 }/ A9 t% L

. o" D, C+ _3 E* r- j人在德国 社区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. 9 {* ?0 F( i$ h1 |( F
* \- \) o5 k2 V% E
1 y3 g3 P' \9 d  u( o

7 n8 g" ^& S( [1 z4 t) a4 hWith its black robes and horsehair wigs, Hong Kong's court system is an obvious inheritance from Britain. Little has changed since the handover.
9 ~+ `' \7 ~  o, D; s! {人在德国 社区0 I+ y* V2 @! y  d2 S$ S

& t' a8 g. ~. K) u% X7 \Hong Kong made itself fabulously wealthy by acting as the lone conduit between China and the world, funneling goods and investment in both directions. 4 z$ c$ m- ~& o- u& I  @
人在德国 社区& U" ^+ d9 t4 h, o. d( P' q2 P& K. f
/ x7 g) {; n0 q% e& a" O
4 ?: z" N+ Z! h( C
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.