The Margaret Thatcher Archives at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom recently declassified a batch of Margaret Thatcher's private archives from 1982, which contain many details of Margaret Thatcher's first visit to China, including ceremonial arrangements such as dinners.
As the commander-in-chief of the British side in the negotiations on Hong Kong's return to the motherland, Margaret Thatcher participated in the core negotiations and finally signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Hong Kong Question with the Chinese side on behalf of the British side.
Margaret Thatcher visited China on September 22, 1982, when Britain had just won the Battle of the Falklands, and she hoped to solve the Hong Kong problem in one fell swoop.
Margaret Thatcher, the first female prime minister in British history, left the mark of the "Iron Lady" in Britain with her resolute and decisive character, tenacious perseverance and strong self-confidence.
During her talks with China, she firmly advocated that the three treaties must be observed, and put forward the views that "the three treaties are valid" and that "Britain is inseparable from maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability" in order to defend Britain's interests in Hong Kong.
However, China has taken a firm attitude, pointing out that China has no way out on this issue and must take back Hong Kong in 1997, otherwise it will not be able to explain to the Chinese people and the people of the world.
Margaret Thatcher was so shaken by the determination of the Chinese that she accidentally fell on the steps of the Great Hall of the People as she walked out of the Fujian Hall. This scene was captured by photojournalists and became a major tidbit of Western ** reports.
Margaret Thatcher's wrestling turned out not to be the result of talks with China, but to her physical condition after surgery. At that time, she had just had her varicose veins removed from her legs, and her body had not fully recovered.
However, she flew to Japan in late August before her visit to China, and then flew from Japan to China non-stop, so busy every day that she didn't have a solid foot on the first step, and as a result, she fell.
Despite this, Margaret Thatcher was fortunately not injured, and she then took a Hongqi car to the door of Diaoyutai Building 12, which was arranged for her by the Chinese side. Surprisingly, Margaret Thatcher looked a little angry and asked the British ambassador to China, Collida, why she was staying in Building 12 instead of Building 18, where foreign heads of state usually visit China.
As a landmark building in China, the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse has a total of 17 buildings. Building 18 stems from a special historical background. In 1958, when planning the state guesthouse, the prime minister decided to start from "Building 2" and arrange them in a counterclockwise direction to "Building 18" to avoid the appearance of the number "13".
Building 18 has an elegant and luxurious exterior design, with a total of 25 suites, deluxe suites and standard rooms. Among them, the Chinese-style ** suite uses imitation Ming style decoration and interiors, which is quite royal style.
Since its completion, Building 18 has received many important VIPs, including the Soviet delegation, the United States' **Nixon, Reagan, etc., most of whom prefer to live in the Chinese-style ** suites here.
Building 12 is a villa of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, which is not only inferior to Building 18 in terms of specifications and hardware facilities, but also has a unique appearance. ** The President was very fond of living here during his lifetime, so when receiving Margaret Thatcher, the Chinese side arranged for her here without any disrespect.
Also a few years later, when Queen Elizabeth II visited China, she also chose to live here and was satisfied with the reception conditions and services here. During this visit, the queen also returned to China a pair of gilt lions that had been looted from the Old Summer Palace by the British and French forces, and which now stand guard in front of Building 18.
At the dinner, Margaret Thatcher had planned to hold it at the British Embassy, but Ambassador to China Kolida proposed to raise the specifications and hold it in the Great Hall of the People so as not to be taken lightly by the Chinese side.
Margaret Thatcher and the Sino-British Hong Kong issue Margaret Thatcher's historian Collins revealed that Margaret Thatcher personally discussed and finally decided on the menu of the dinner, emphasizing the use of British naval silverware to symbolize Britain's former glory.
In terms of menu selection, Margaret Thatcher chose the cheaper option and asked for a dish of Scottish smoked salmon to be added. She also vetoed a dish of Russian bread with butter and strawberry sauce during the Sino-Soviet friendship period, and replaced it with a fruit salad to prevent it from being used for lavish dinners as a cut in hospital expenses.
Despite this, the British ambassador to China, Sir Collida, decided that "it is impossible to have a memorable banquet in the Great Hall of the People without spending any money", and Margaret Thatcher relented and added these dishes to the menu.
After this visit, Margaret Thatcher convened a meeting of the **high-level** and the Governor of Hong Kong, Youde, on January 28, 1983, to discuss the question of Hong Kong.
In the absence of progress in the negotiations, Margaret Thatcher proposed the idea of developing democratic institutions in Hong Kong and proposing a referendum. But the attendees did not support her idea.
She then wrote a letter to China** stating that she was willing to make proposals to the British Parliament on sovereignty as long as there was agreement on management.
However, the letter did not explicitly commit to China's resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, but instead attached a large number of conditions. China** is keenly aware of the change in the position of its opponent and has responded positively, providing the British side with a first-class opportunity to break the deadlock in the negotiations and untie the knot of sovereignty.
In the ensuing talks, the British side tried to use the so-called two cards of public opinion and economy, but was refuted by the people of China and Hong Kong. Seeing that the situation was not good, Britain** sent former Prime Minister Heath to Beijing to communicate with Chinese leaders.
China has expressed its dissatisfaction with the way Britain has negotiated, and has firmly stated that exchanging sovereignty for governing power will not work. The Chinese side warned that if the British side did not change its course, China would have to unilaterally announce its policy to resolve the Hong Kong issue in September 1984.
After the fourth round of talks, the UK** began to consider measures to stabilize Hong Kong's economy and was prepared to back down in the negotiations. At 10 a.m. on September 26, 1984, after 22 rounds of negotiations, China and Britain held a ceremony to initialize the joint declaration in the West Hall of the Great Hall of the People, announcing that China would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, and that Britain would return Hong Kong to China on the same day.
On December 18, 1984, Margaret Thatcher arrived in Beijing again by special plane to sign a joint declaration with China.
At 0:00:00 on July 1, 1997, the British flag came to an end to its more than 150-year rule on Hong Kong soil, and the five-star red flag was raised at this moment, announcing China's return to Hong Kong's sovereignty.