In 1981, General Paredes succeded Torrijos as leader, after the latter's death in an air crash, and in an effort to win over Chinese support consulted with Fermin Chan, for many years director of the National Bank of Panama.
原來在一九八一年時，巴拿馬軍事強人杜里荷將軍因飛機出事殞命，另一位強人巴雷德將軍想取而代之。為了爭取近十萬的華裔支持，他特別向僑社大老、曾任巴拿馬國家銀行董事長多年的陳奉天請益。