MARGARET THATCHER'S plane landed in Peking at half-past one on the afternoon of 22 September, 1982. It was her second visit to China, the first having been when she was Leader of the Opposition in 1977.
She did not, according to one civil servant, find China very attractive: 'She was a great exception to the general rule among political and business leaders, that having reached Peking and had their tummies tickled, they are captivated by the place, seeing themselves as latter-day Marco Polo figures. When she went as Leader of the Opposition, she found it a rather unpleasant place governed by rather unpleasant people.'
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