TOKYO -- When Margaret Thatcher visited Hong Kong in 1984, just after reaching an agreement with the Chinese on the return of Hong Kong, she attended a news conference where a reporter put a tough question to her.

Some 36 years ago a woman who would come to be known as Hong Kong's "Iron Lady" gave Margaret Thatcher a test on morals. (Nikkei Montage/AP/Reuters/Jiji/AFP)
In a 1984 news conference, Margaret Thatcher shot down Emily Lau's concerns