Yan Mingfu

 ( 1931 Births ) 

After the students commenced their hunger strike on 13 May, the Politburo sent Yan to Tiananmen Square to call for an end to the protests and implore students to return to class.Zhang, "Authorizing a liberal press policy", The Tiananmen Papers, 152. For the most part, the meeting went badly. In his discussion with the student leaders, he acknowledged that the decision to protest was justified while reaffirming the Politburo's desire to see the students return to their classrooms. He also condemned the decision to begin a hunger strike, telling the students that it "accomplishes nothing, either for the country or your own health. If you present your demands and suggestions through proper channels, I can responsibly tell you the door to dialogue is always open."Zhang, "The hunger strike begins", The Tiananmen Papers, 159. The meeting ended with both groups feeling misunderstood; when Yan reported back to Zhao, he noted that the student leaders "are in disagreement among themselves."

On 14 May, Yan returned to the Great Hall of the People and told students that a dialogue to be held later in the day would be recorded and broadcast on national television. During the discussion that afternoon, Zhang says, Yan and Li Tieying maintained that their aim was "not to negotiate policy decisions but to exchange views and information."Zhang, "Li Tieying and Yan Mingfu hold dialogue with students", The Tiananmen Papers, 165. After the dialogue broke down, Dai Qing and a group of eleven other intellectuals notified Yan that they were willing to meet with the students and urge them to stop their hunger strike. When the intellectuals returned from the dialogue, they claimed that the students would listen if the government would compromise first. For Yan, this indicated that the "students are getting greedier, their demands are getting stiffer, and they're getting less and less unified among themselves."Zhang, "The intellectuals appeal", The Tiananmen Papers, 165–6. The intellectuals resumed the discussion, but it again ended without either party reaching a resolution.

On 16 May, Yan arrived at Tiananmen Square to advocate an end to the hunger strike. He offered himself as a hostage to demonstrate the sincerity of his belief that all issues would soon be resolved. The students believed his speech to be genuine, but they did not think that the government would truly capitulate.Han, "Transcript of May 18 meeting between Premier Li Peng and students", Cries for Democracy, 244. By 18 May, Yan had grown tired of the disagreements between the students and the government. At a meeting between Li Peng and the student leaders that day, he stated that the "only issue I am concerned with is that of saving the children who are hunger striking in the Square, who are now in a very weakened state, their lives gravely threatened." When Zhao was ousted on 21 May, Yan lost his major source of political support;Zhang, "The Conflict Intensifies", The Tiananmen Papers, 268. on 23 June, the Politburo voted to eject him from his government positions.Zhang, "The Fourth Plenum of the Thirteenth Central Committee", The Tiananmen Papers, 438. An article from The Asian Wall Street Journal contends that Yan "was criticized as handling the talks badly." According to Zhang, Yan's speech to students on 16 May also "became a major count against him" when the government began to expel its reform-minded members.