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Cherie Blair, in Beijing Speaking for Herself 08:58, August 24, 2009 Cherie Blair, in Beijing speaking for herself 08:58, August 24, 2009 Cherie Blair, Queens Counsel and wife of former British Primer Minister Tony Blair, launched a Chinese-language version of her autobiography at the Great Hall of the People last week. Presenting Speaking for Myself in person, Blair said she had written a special preface including her experiences in China and added extra pictures to the Chinese edition that attempts to give a complete account of her life. "I wanted to put into a context a woman's journey of 50 years from a working class background in Liverpool to someone who ended up not only living at the most famous addresses in the world but meeting with two American presidents and the premier of China and along the way had a lot of fun." She said that Speaking for Myself is something that most women worldwide could relate to as attitudes toward life and career are often similar despite cultural differences. She added that many women face the same obstacles and they can share their experiences and learn from each other. "I think the women in China actually have a lot that they can share with the women in Western Europe," Blair explained. "For example, engineering. In Western Europe we have very few women engineers. And it's almost been regarded as though it's not a job for a woman. Yet when I first came to China I was astonished that almost every woman I met was an engineer. I think at least 50 percent of engineers in China are women, which just goes to show that engineering obviously is a job for women and these cultural assumptions about what women can and cannot do, can be overcome." Cherie Blair and husband Tony Blair. Top: The cover of Speaking for Myself. Born in 1954 in present-day Greater Manchester, Blair spent her childhood in Waterloo, north of Liverpool. Abandoned by her actor father when she was eight, she overcame many obstacles to reach the top of Britain's legal system, is married to former Prime Minister Tony Blair and the mother of four children. In Speaking for Myself, Blair gives readers a very personal account of her life from a humble childhood in Liverpool to becoming a Queen's Counsel and life as first lady. Cherie Blair was the first British first lady in history to have a serious career. In her book she speaks for the first time for herself, providing an intimate and detailed portrait of her little- known personal life, rather than speaking on behalf of others for charity, as she usually does. Her adoration of her husband and the importance of family is a prevalent theme throughout the book. "I think that there is no doubt in my mind that the most important role is the role of being wife and mother because in the end it's how we transmit our values down to the next generation that really matters," she said at the launch ceremony. In her recollections, Blair delves into her private life, giving a light-hearted description of how at one point she juggled up to three boyfriends and how she came to choose Tony Blair not just because she "fancied him rotten - and still does" - but because he had a "touch of steel" that her own strong character craved. Blair vividly recalls how her husband proposed to her when she was on her hands and knees cleaning a bathroom at a villa in Italy while they were on holidays, quite the reverse of the typical scenario when a man gets down on one knee to ask for his wife's hand in marriage. Cherie Blair's strength of character is evident throughout the autobiography as she retells her scuffles with the media. In an episode when the couple had finished their tenure and were leaving No 10 Downing Street, as they got into the car, photographers called out "We'll miss you!" She shouted back, "I won't miss you!" Blair emphasized that most of the controversies about her in the British media were because of her duel role as first lady and her independent legal career. She said that the media simply did not know how to treat her fairly. In a book generously sprinkled with personal anecdotes and insights, Blair also adds interest via illustrations of encounters with dozens of foreign leaders and their spouses, including meeting the Chinese Premier and her friendship with US presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, as well as their wives Hillary and Laura. Speaking for Myself in Chinese is published by Shanghai People's Publishing House and widely available. "Source: The Global Times" .
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