A great leader's way

You can love her, you can hate her, but you cannot ignore her." These words, from Carol Thatcher, the daughter of the former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, give us an insight into the nature of this unique woman. These are the opening words to the BBC documentary The Iron Lady, first broadcast hours after Mrs Thatcher's death earlier this month. The words have been repeated often of late, because there is much truth behind them.

It is no exaggeration to say that Mrs Thatcher was the most controversial figure in British history. The chaotic political and economic environment in Britain in the late 1970s required new thinking, and it was through privatisation and reining in the unions that Mrs Thatcher achieved it. This, of course, led to her distinctive love-hate relationship with many people.

The BBC documentary underlined the mixed reaction to her legacy. It also described what it regarded as one of the major failures of her time in office - allowing the sovereignty of Hong Kong to pass back to China, instead of affording the people true self-determination.

I was fortunate enough to meet Mrs Thatcher, in September 2000, 10 years after she stood outside Downing Street and announced she was stepping down. I had been selected as an interpreter for a meeting between Mrs Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping's daughter, Deng Rong, while she was visiting London.

I was excited by the meeting; for one, I was keen to see her reaction when she met Deng's daughter.

We were taken to the second-floor living room of Mrs Thatcher's residence, where she asked the guests to sit at the table close to the fireplace. I sat beside her. This was an arresting moment; I couldn't believe I was allowed to sit so close rather than in my normal position as a translator, behind the host. I had a feeling that she liked to be close to everyone she was meeting, to allow them to feel comfortable.