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. 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.