Editing Wan Li (section)

==National politics==
Wan was elected to the 11th Central Committee in 1977, and to the Central Committee Secretariat in February 1980, where he worked under General Secretary [[Hu Yaobang]]. In April he was made Vice Premier to fellow agrarian reformer [[Zhao Ziyang]], and in August Wan was named Minister of the State Agricultural Commission. He was also made a member of the Standing Committee of the [[Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]] in September of that year.<ref>Lamb, Malcolm, ''Directory of Officials and Organizations in China, 1968-1983'' (M.E. Sharpe, New York: 1984).</ref>

Wan served as the chair of the [[Five Disciplines, Four Graces and Three Loves]] activity committee.<ref name="Wan Li">{{cite web | url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2003-01/18/content_695147.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031206202843/http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2003-01/18/content_695147.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 6, 2003 | title=Wan Li | publisher=[[Xinhua News Agency]] | access-date=July 3, 2011 | language=zh}}</ref>

Wan Li became the Vice Premier in 1984 and the [[Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress]] in 1988. Wan supported Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang in arguing to spread the [[household responsibility system]] nationwide in 1979–81.<ref>Zhao Ziyang, ''Prisoner of the State'' (Simon & Schuster: London, 2009), {{ISBN|978-1-84737-697-8}}, p. 141.</ref> He also supported Zhao in curtailing the [[Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign]] in the mid-1980s.<ref>Zhao, p. 163.</ref>

After the January 1987 resignation of General Secretary Hu Yaobang, Wan Li was named to the interim "five man group", which essentially acted as an interim [[Politburo Standing Committee]]. Wan was one of seven individuals shortlisted as candidates for formal entry into the supreme body, due for confirmation at the 13th National Congress of the party in the autumn of 1987. However, the appointment was opposed by party elder [[Bo Yibo]] and others conservatives such as [[Yao Yilin]].  According to [[Prisoner of the State|Zhao Ziyang's memoirs]], Yao said that Wan had "offended too many people" and criticized Wan as "the type to stir up trouble when things go wrong."<ref name=zhaozi>{{cite news|title=赵紫阳披露 万里田纪云被1小人搞出局|url=http://www.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2015/01/201501121632.shtml#.Va1KM_lViko|publisher=Zhao (via Boxun)}}</ref>

Deng heeded the conservatives' opposition to Wan entering the party's foremost decision-making body, but instead suggested that Wan take on the office of the Chairman of the National People's Congress.<ref>Zhao, pp. 210-211.</ref> The legislative position, while not part of the party's apex, was still a prestigious office that carried a full 'national leader' rank.  Wan initially was unsure about his taking up the office, telling Deng that he was not qualified enough since he did not have a background in law. Deng replied that Wan "could always learn [on the job] and find people to assist him."<ref name=zhaozi/>

Wan was duly elected as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 1988, succeeding [[Peng Zhen]]. He maintained this position until he retired in 1993.<ref name=xinhua/>

===1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre===
Wan was on an official visit to Canada and the United States during the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre]].  As Wan was seen as one of the representative figures of the CCP's reformist wing, leading voices within the party's top leadership, particularly retired elders, believed that Wan was sympathetic to the students and would rally behind [[Zhao Ziyang]], the leading reformer in China's top leadership.<ref name=jiang>{{cite news|title=万里八九学运时遭江泽民软禁内幕|url=http://history.dwnews.com/news/2015-07-17/59667834.html|work=Duowei News|date=July 17, 2015}}</ref>

On May 12, Wan Li left on a scheduled working visit to Canada and the United States. On May 13, the protests entered its [[hunger strike]] stage.  Some of the protesters planned a demonstration to welcome him back to Beijing in late May.<ref>The Tiananmen Papers, page 289</ref>  Moreover, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, which Wan chaired, had the constitutional power to convene the National People's Congress in full session. Such an extraordinary session of the body was, legally speaking, the top authority of the state, and was seen by some scholars and political insiders as a constitutionally-sanctioned way to break the deadlock.<ref name=jiang/>  Moreover, 57 members of the Standing Committee of the NPC had petitioned for a special convening of the body to resolve the Tiananmen crisis. On May 21, Deng met with then Shanghai party chief [[Jiang Zemin]]. In addition to hinting that Jiang was slated to "take on a bigger role" in the days ahead, Deng asked Jiang to discuss the ongoing situation with Wan Li to ensure the latter's support for the decision to crack down.<ref name=jiang/>

Upon returning from his visit on the afternoon of May 25, Wan's plane was diverted to [[Shanghai]], where he was greeted by Jiang Zemin and others who tried to persuade him to take a stand against the student protests.<ref name=jiang/>  While in Shanghai, Wan learned that his former ally Zhao Ziyang had already essentially been ousted from power, and that Deng and party elders had planned to use military force to put an end to the protests.  Wan, fully aware that he did not have the military power nor personal clout necessary to fight the decision regardless of his 'true' political leanings, expressed support for the leadership on May 27, and specifically endorsed the provisions for martial law announced by conservative figures Premier [[Li Peng]] and President [[Yang Shangkun]]. Apart from asking his secretary to draft a memo clarifying his position, Wan did not make any further statements of support for the position of the leadership, suggesting that he may well have acquiesced to the decision rather than being earnestly in support of it.<ref name=jiang/>