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Taiwan post marks former aide's return to the fold

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The apparent appointment of Yan Mingfu as the top negotiator with Taiwan is an attempt by the leadership not only to reopen formal negotiations with Taiwan, but also to complete the rehabilitation of Mr Yan, the former aide of ousted party chief Zhao Ziyang .

Mr Yan, 76, has worked closely with Premier Wen Jiabao in the past.

He became secretary of the Secretariat of the Communist Party Central Committee in 1987 - the year Mr Wen, then director of the party's General Office, became an alternate member of the Secretariat.

Mr Yan, who headed the United Work Department from 1985 to 1990 and was a dominant figure in handling Tibetan affairs at that time, was also crucial in supporting the appointment of President Hu Jintao , a protege of former party chief Hu Yaobang , as the party boss in Tibet in 1988.

He maintained a cosy relationship with the previous Panchen Lama and has been working closely with Mr Hu and Mr Wen in handling Tibetan affairs.

One example was when Mr Yan and Mr Wen took a medical assistance team from Lhasa to Xigaze when the Panchen Lama was in critical condition in January 1989, sources said.

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