Yao Yilin

In this Chinese name, the family name is Yao.

His Excellency Yao Yilin
姚依林
4th and 6th Director of the State Planning Commission
In office June 1987 – December 1989
Premier	Zhao Ziyang Li Peng
Preceded by	Song Ping
Succeeded by	Zou Jiahua
In office August 1980 – June 1983
Premier	Zhao Ziyang
Preceded by	Yu Qiuli
Succeeded by	Song Ping
First-ranked Vice Premier of China
In office 25 March 1988 – 5 March 1993
Premier	Li Peng
Preceded by	Wan Li
Succeeded by	Zhu Rongji
Director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party
In office 1978–1982
Leader	Hua Guofeng Hu Yaobang
Preceded by	Wang Dongxing
Succeeded by	Hu Qili
Minister of Commerce
In office 18 August 1978 – October 1978
Premier	Hua Guofeng
Preceded by	Wang Lei [zh]
Succeeded by	Jin Ming
Personal details
Born	William Yiu Hak-kwong (1917-09-06)September 6, 1917 British Hong Kong
Died	December 11, 1994(1994-12-11) (aged 77) Beijing, China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party (1935–1994)
Spouse(s)	Zhou Bin Hong Shouzi
Relations	Wang Qishan (son-in-law) Meng Xuenong (son-in-law)
Children	Yao Mingrui[1] Yao Mingshan Yao Mingduan Yao Mingwei
Alma mater	Tsinghua University
Military service
Allegiance	People's Republic of China
Branch/service	People's Liberation Army Ground Force
Years of service	1935–1949
Battles/wars	Second Sino-Japanese War Chinese Civil War

Yao Yilin (Chinese: 姚依林; pinyin: Yáo Yīlín; September 6, 1917 – December 11, 1994) was a Chinese politician and soldier who was Vice Premier of China from 1979 to 1988 and First Vice Premier from 1988 to 1993.^[2]

Early life and career

He was born in Hong Kong in 1917, and spent his early years in Guichi, Anhui. Yao joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1935. During the December 9th Movement, Yao was the secretary of the Beijing city Party study group. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, he became the vice-director of the Finance Office of the Communist-controlled area. This began a long period of leadership in financial positions. In 1979, Yao became the Vice-Premier of the State Council. At the 13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1987, Yao was elected to the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and later rose to the position of First Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China.

Role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests

During the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, Yao Yilin held the position of First Vice Premier of China and was responsible for economic planning and management.^[3] Yao was associated with the conservative side of the party which denied that the students were patriotic and advocated a quick suppression to the movement. Yao Yilin and Li Peng were both able to effectively oppose Zhao Ziyang in order to ensure that conservative influence would dominate the decisions made in the CCP.^[4]

Involvement with April 26 Editorial

The April 26 editorial published in the People's Daily angered the students and greatly contributed to the growing numbers in the square. The official report of the Chinese Communist Party stated that the movement was not patriotic and the students were being led by a small group of anti-communist conspirators to cause "turmoil". Deng Xiaoping's own opinions were placed in the editorial to help support it and ensure that the people of China would obediently accept the party's view of the protests.^[3]: 336 However, two opposing sides emerged in the party: one supported keeping the editorial the same, the other wanted to change the editorial to appease the students. Yao rejected Zhao's offer to take the blame for changing the party's opinion of the movement because the people would begin to doubt the cohesiveness of the party.^[3]: 238 Yao proposed less conciliatory action with the students. Instead he wanted to further prevent other political leaders from supporting the protests, force students to end class boycotts, and maintain labor discipline in industry and commerce to keep production on track.^[3]: 239 Yao Yilin and Li Peng were the leaders of the conservative faction and gained support by siding with Deng Xiaoping's view of the protests. Deng Xiaoping held a considerable amount of honour and prestige in China because of his long term involvement with the Communist Party and his close ties with China's previous iconic leader, Mao Zedong.^[5] Yao slowly pulled support away from Zhao Ziyang's reformist faction by making his supporters believe that Zhao sided too much with the students over the clarification of the editorial. Yao Yilin attacked Zhao because he blamed the party for allowing corruption to go unchecked and making democracy and law worse in China.^[3]: 245 Zhao found himself in a difficult situation when Yao and other conservatives worked together and opposed the decisions he made with other reformers such as Chen Yizi and Bao Tong.^[6]

Justification for Martial Law

Yao Yilin and Li Peng are the two figures most associated with the initiation of martial law on June 4. The need for martial law came from the fear that the continuing stream of students entering the square were secretly coerced by anti-communist powers. Party leaders were afraid that these powers were continuing to fill Tiananmen Square with students and protesters that would only function to obstruct the CCP from governing the Chinese people.^[3]: 147 Martial law was seen by the conservative faction as the only method that could bring about a crackdown with enough force to prevent future protesters from attempting to reach the square. According to Tony Saich, Yao was such a strong supporter of martial law because he saw it as a last resort option to end the protests and return proper functioning to Beijing.^[7] In a discussion with other party leaders, Yao Yilin was quoted saying "The nature of this student movement has changed. It began as a natural expression of grief and has turned into social turmoil."^[3]: 96 He advocated that all unofficially recognized student organizations should be considered illegal because he feared they would spread the turmoil outside Beijing and throughout the rest of the country. Yao was also the only member of the Standing Committee to refuse dialogue with the students because he believed that a small group of conspirators were behind these student organizations and dialogue with them would only strengthen their ability to overthrow the CCP.^[3] Chow Chung-Yan discusses in his article published in the South China Morning Post how Li Peng and Yao Yilin favoured martial law because it would allow the hardliners to hold the power they had in the country.^[8]

Death

Yao died of an illness on December 11, 1994. He was 77 years old.

Family

Yao and his wife Hong Shouzi had four children, including daughters Yao Mingrui, Yao Mingshan, Yao Mingduan and son Yao Mingwei. Yao Mingshan's husband is former Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan. Yao Mingduan's husband is Meng Xuenong, the former Governor of Shanxi and former Mayor of Beijing.

See also

• Tsin Ku University, educational institution where Yao Yilin studied.^[9]

References

1. "姚明瑞同志逝世消息".
2. Wolfgang Bartke (January 1, 1997). Who was Who in the People's Republic of China. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 578–. ISBN 978-3-11-096823-1.
3. Zhang Liang. Tiananmen Papers. Public Affairs, 2002. p. 639. ISBN 978-0-349-11469-9
4. George H. W. Bush Library. "White House Situation Room Files, Tiananmen Square Crisis File, China – Part 1 Of 5 Tianamen Square Crisis" Tiananmen Square and U.S.-China relations, 1989–1993, May–June 1989. p 76. Retrieved November 12, 2010, from Archives Unbound.
5. Ming Pao. "Balance of Power" Daily Report, June 1989. p 5. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports: http://docs.newsbank.com/s/HistArchive/fbisdoc/FBISX/11EF37C662B613F0/10367B8A6237537E
6. Cheng Ming. "CPC Split" Daily Report, June 1989. p 28. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports: http://docs.newsbank.com/s/HistArchive/fbisdoc/FBISX/11EECBE2EDFEB820/10367B8A6237537E
7. Saich, Tony. "The Rise and Fall of the Beijing People's Movement." Contemporary China Center, Australian National University, no. 9, July 1990. p 201. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from JSTOR.
8. Chow Chung-Yan. "Zhao Ziyang alleges Li Peng 1989 scheming; Late leader's explosive memoirs out" South China Morning Post, May 2009. p 1. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from LexisNexis.
9. 裴毅然 (2015-01-16). 紅色生活史: 革命歲月那些事（1921-1949） (in Chinese). 時報文化出版企業. ISBN 9789865729226.

Party political offices
Preceded by Wang Dongxing	Director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party 1978–1982	Succeeded by Hu Qili
Government offices
Preceded by Wang Lei [zh]	Minister of Commerce 1978	Succeeded by Jin Ming
Preceded by Yu Qiuli	Director of the State Planning Commission 1980–1983	Succeeded by Song Ping
Preceded by Song Ping	Director of the State Planning Commission 1987–1989	Succeeded by Zou Jiahua
Preceded by Wan Li	First-ranked Vice Premier of China 1988–1993	Succeeded by Zhu Rongji
Order of precedence
Preceded by Hu Qili	5th Ranking of the Chinese Communist Party 13th Politburo Standing Committee 1987–1989	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Qiao Shi	4th Ranking of the Chinese Communist Party 13th Politburo Standing Committee 1989–1992	Succeeded by Song Ping