BEIJING - The Chinese authorities will hold a low-key funeral service for Zhao Ziyang, the purged Communist Party chief, and have given permission for his burial in a cemetery reserved for senior party officials, a government spokesman and members of his family said Thursday.

The decision signals a softening of the government's position on how to handle Zhao's death. Top officials previously banned nearly all news coverage and denied Zhao the usual honors accorded to senior leaders when they die.

It remains unclear whether the party will present a eulogy at the funeral, as would be customary.

Zhao, who died Monday at the age of 85, lost power in 1989 after he opposed the use of force against democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square and spent nearly 16 years under house arrest.