His first prominent role in government began in 1985, when he was made leader of the United Front Work Department for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

[1] When students began protesting China's corruption and economic problems after the death of Hu Yaobang on 15 April 1989, Yan was also serving as a Secretary in the 13th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party.

[7] At a meeting held on 10 May, the Politburo, under the leadership of Zhao Ziyang, decided that holding discussions with every group involved in the protests would be an ideal path to resolving the students' issues; along with Hu Qili and Rui Xingwen, Yan was asked to speak to journalists from various papers throughout the capital.

[8] According to Zhang Liang, the compiler of the document collection The Tiananmen Papers, the three officials saw in the protests "an opportunity to move decisively toward fuller, more truthful reporting.

"[9] Yan held his dialogue with Beijing's journalists from 11 to 13 May; throughout these discussions, he repeatedly voiced his support for the students' goals, played down the condemnation of the protest expressed in the April 26 Editorial, and argued Zhao was fully in favor of reforming the press.

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.

"[12] 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.

"[14] When Zhao was ousted on 21 May, Yan lost his major source of political support;[15] on 23 June, the Politburo voted to eject him from his government positions.

The promotion occurred almost exactly two years after the 4 June Massacre, but a New York Times article says Yan and other recently rehabilitated officials "did not mention their 1989 political disgrace or say why they were given new jobs.