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State Education Commission. Within the government, Li is responsible for education, culture, broadcasting and information services. Given the events of last summer and his previous association with the reformers, this might appear to put his position in some jeopardy. He has, however, managed to survive. He is the son of Deng Xiaoping's first wife by a subsequent marriage.
Li Ximing (63)
Member of the Politburo. Party Secretary of Peking.
An uncompromising hardliner in his attitude towards the demonstrations in Peking. Has connections with Li Peng, dating back to the time when they both worked in the energy sector.
Qin Jiwei (79)
Member of the Politburo. Minister of National Defence. A State Councillor. Apart from Yang Shangkun, Qin is the only full time military officer on the Politburo. He has connections with Deng Xiaoping dating back to the war. It was widely believed he was opposed to the use of troops to enforce Martial Law. His influence does appear to have been somewhat eclipsed by the rising power of the Yang family within the Party's Military Commission.
Tian Jiyun (61)
Tian is a close
Member of the Politburo. A Vice-Premier. associate of the former Party Leader Zhao Ziyang, dating back to their time as pioneers of reform in Sichuan province in the late 1970s. He is one of the most committed reformers left in the present leadership, although he may have been forced to trim his sails to the new wind. responsibilities include the financial sector and agriculture. He visited Britain with Zhao Ziyang's delegation in 1985.
His
Wu Xueqian (69)
Member of the Politburo. A Vice-Premier. Wu was previously Minister of Foreign Affairs (1982-88), and still retains foreign affairs responsibilities at a high level. He was believed to have been close to the late reformist Party leader Hu Yaobang, but has not himself been particularly outspoken on the subject recently. His son has been arrested for involvement in the democracy movement. result his influence has probably declined. He was well known to Sir Geoffrey Howe and visited Britain in 1985 (with Zhao Ziyang), 1988, and again, for a stopover, in 1990.
As a
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