It has been three months since Chinese rock musician Li Zhi disappeared from public view.

First, an upcoming tour was cancelled and his social media accounts were taken down. Then his music was removed from all of China’s major streaming sites — as if his career had never existed at all.

Mr Li is an outspoken artist who performs folk rock. He sang pensive ballads about social ills, and unlike most entertainers in China, dared to broach the taboo subject of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests that ended in bloodshed on 4 June 1989.

“Now this square is my grave,” Mr Li sang. “Everything is just a dream.”

China’s ruling Communist Party has pushed people like Mr Li into the shadows as it braces for this week's 30th anniversary of the military crackdown. Hundreds, if not thousands, are estimated to have died on the night of 3 June and in the early hours of 4 June.

Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Show all 29 1 /29 Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Students stand to attention on the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square in Beijing today Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered A Chinese citizen stands passively in front of tanks on the Avenue of Eternal Peace in this photo taken during the crushing of the Tiananmen Square uprising. The tanks did not slow down, but they did turn around him before taking up positions in another part of Beijing. REUTERS/Str Old Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered A group from the crowd of 200,000 pro-democracy student protesters stand face to face with policemen outside the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square, 22 April 1989 in Beijing as they take part in the funeral ceremony of former Chinese Communist Party leader and liberal reformer Hu Yaobang during an unauthorized demonstration to mourn his death. Hu Yaobang's death in April trigged an unprecedented wave of pro-democracy demonstrations. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Students gesture and shout slogans as they pay respects, 22 April in Beijing, to former Chinese Communist Party leader and liberal reformer Hu Yaobang, as thousands of students gather near the monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered 14 May 1989 - several hundred students staging a huge demonstration at Tiananmen Square as they start an unlimited hunger strike. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Chinese worker shouts pro-democracy slogans during a mass rally in Beijing streets 17 May 1989. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Paramedics evacuate ailing student hunger striker from Beijing University on 17 May. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Chinese workers parade through Beijing streets, 18 May, in support of student hunger strikers gathered at Tiananmen Square. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered 18 May 1989 - students from Beijing University during a huge demonstration at Tiananmen Square as they start an unlimited hunger strike as the part of mass pro-democracy protest against the Chinese government. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Pro-democracy demonstrators surround a truck filled of People's Liberation Army (PLO) soldiers, 20 May, on their way to Tiananmen Square after Martial Law was proclaimed in Beijing. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Pro-democracy demonstrators raise their fists and flash Victory signs, 20 May, as they stop the military truck filled with soldiers on its way to Tiananmen Square after Martial Law was proclaimed. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Waving banners, high school students march in Beijing streets near Tiananmen Square, 25 May, during a rally to support the pro-democracy protest against the Chinese government. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Raising a banner which reads 'Lift Martial Law and Protect the Capital', journalists from the Communist party's official newspaper, the 'People's Daily'. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered A student shows off a stick to which is tied a broken bottle with the picture of Chines leader Deng Xiaoping as thousands of demonstrators gathered in Beijing streets near Tiananmen Square, 25 May, during a rally to support the pro-democracy protest against the Chinese government. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Using a loudspeaker, a student asks soldiers to go back home as crowds flooded into the central Beijing, 3 June. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Exhausted, humiliated soldiers are hustled away by Beijing people in central Beijing, 3 June 1989. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered A dissident student asks soldiers to go back home as crowds flooded into the central Beijing, 3 June. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Citizens and students flash 'V'-signs to celebrate their victory after forcing tens of thousands of troops to retreat from central Beijing, 3 June. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered The soldiers of the PLA are forced by dissident students to sit in front of the Great hall of the People at Tiananmen Square, 3 June CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Dissident students and workers armed with wooden sticks gather outside the Great hall of the People at Tiananmen Square, 3 June, shouting slogans demanding the ousting of Premier Li Peng. CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Beijing residents inspect the interior of some of over 20 armoured personnel carrier burnt by demonstrators to prevent the troops from moving into Tiananmen Square, 4 June MANUEL CENETA/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered One of over 20 armoured personnel carrier burnt by demonstrators to prevent the troops from moving into Tiananmen Square, 4 June MANUEL CENETA/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered PLA soldiers leap over a barrier on Tiananmen Square in central Beijing 4 June, during heavy clashes with people and dissident students. ATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Taken care by others, an unidentified foreign journalist (2nd right) is carried out from the clash site between the army and students, 4 June, near Tiananmen Square. THOMAS CHENG/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered A girl wounded during the clash between the army and students, 4 June, near Tiananmen Square is carried out on a cart. MANUEL CENETA/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered Two injured during the clashes on 4 June are carried out. MANUEL CENETA/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered A Beijing resident on the west side of Tiananmen Square shows a slug from an automatic rifle fired by the army, 4 June, that went through his flat's widow in central Beijing. MANUEL CENETA/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered The PLA tanks guard a strategic Chang'an Avenue leading to Tiananmen Square, 6 June MANUEL CENETA/AFP/Getty Images Dying for democracy: Tiananmen Square, remembered A protestor stands passively in front of tanks on the Avenue of Eternal Peace, 5 June, during the crushing of the Tiananmen Square uprising. The tanks did not slow down, but they did turn around him before taking up positions in another part of the city. REUTERS/Str Old

The party’s effort to scrub any mention of the movement has been consistent through the decades since then and ramps up before major anniversaries every five years. This year, the trade war with the US has added to government skittishness about instability.

“They are certainly nervous,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University. “Under (President) Xi Jinping, no stone will be left unturned.”

Many of the actions appear aimed at eliminating any risk of individuals speaking out, however small their platforms. Bilibili, a Chinese video streaming site, announced last week that its popular real-time comments feature will be disabled until 6 June for “system upgrades”.

Chinese Human Rights Defenders, an advocacy group, said 13 people have either been detained or taken away from their homes in connection with the anniversary.

Among them are several artists who recently embarked on a “national conscience exhibit tour” and a filmmaker who was detained after tweeting images of a liquor bottle commemorating 4 June.

The bottle’s label featured a play on words using “baijiu”, China’s signature grain alcohol, and the Chinese words for 89, or “bajiu.” A court convicted four people involved in designing the bottle in April.

Foreign companies are not immune.

Apple Music has removed from its Chinese streaming service a song by Hong Kong singer Jackie Cheung that references the Tiananmen crackdown.

Tat Ming Pair, a Hong Kong duo, have been deleted entirely from the app. They released a song this month called “Remembering is a Crime” in memory of the protests.

Wikipedia also announced this month that the online encyclopedia is no longer accessible in China. While the Chinese-language version has been blocked since 2015, most other languages could previously be viewed, Wikipedia said.

The disappearance of Mr Li, the musician, has left fans searching for answers.

On 20 February, the official Weibo social media account for the 40-year-old’s concert tour posted a photograph of its team in front of a truck about to embark on scheduled performances in Sichuan province in China’s southwest.

The Tiananmen square protest

Just two days later, however, the account posted an image of a hand wearing what appeared to be a hospital wrist band and the words: “Very sorry.”

The next post, published the same day, announced without explanation that the tour was cancelled and that ticket purchasers would shortly receive a refund. Fans flooded the comment section with wishes for a speedy recovery.

But the suggestion that a health issue was behind the cancellations was later thrown into doubt.

A statement published in April by Sichuan’s culture department said it had “urgently halted” concert plans for a “well-known singer with improper conduct” who was previously slated for 23 performances — the same number of concerts which Li had scheduled in the province. It said 18,000 tickets were fully refunded.

Authorities in China regularly use “improper conduct” to describe political transgressions.

Around the same time, Mr Li’s presence on the Chinese internet was completely erased.

A central government directive on 21 April ordered all websites to delete any audio or video content relating to five of Mr Li’s songs, according to China Digital Times, an organisation that publishes leaked censorship instructions.

The Associated Press could not independently verify the authenticity of the directive.

“There’s pretty much a consensus” among those working in the industry that Mr Li’s disappearance from public view is due to the sensitive anniversary, said a music industry professional who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of government retribution.

“He did a number of songs that were considered politically risky, making references to 4 June 1989, and so he’s been out of the picture,” the industry professional said.

The AP could not confirm Mr Li’s current whereabouts. His company and record label did not respond to repeated interview requests.

Li’s songs alluding to the Tiananmen Square protests — “The Square”, “The Spring of 1990” and “The Goddess”, in honour of the Goddess of Democracy that students erected — were part of his earlier works.

In recent years, the bespectacled singer has avoided making public political statements, focusing more on promoting his performances.

In 2015, the state-run China Daily newspaper published a profile of Mr Li, describing him as a performer who easily sells out concerts. After years of working as an independent artist, he signed last autumn with Taihe Music Group, a major Chinese record label.

Fans who knew Mr Li as a largely apolitical entertainer expressed bewilderment online about his disappearance. Others made veiled references to China’s internet censorship.

On Zhihu, a question-and-answer website similar to Quora, one user wrote that people posed questions every day about what might have happened to Mr Li, but these posts always disappeared the next morning “as if nothing had happened at all”.

Another user said: “I don’t dare to say it, nor do I dare to ask.”

A fan who has been sharing Mr Li’s music on his personal account spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because he feared his employers would punish him for discussing the subject.

“Everyone knows the reason for Li Zhi’s disappearance,” the fan said. “But I’m sorry, I can’t tell you, because I follow China’s laws and also hope that Li Zhi can return.”

Quoting one of Mr Li’s lyrics, the fan added: “The world will be all right.”

Fans continue to circulate videos of Mr Li’s performances online. His complete discography has been uploaded onto file-sharing websites, with back-up links in case the original ones are shuttered. Some users shared tribute art, including a black T-shirt with the words “improper conduct”.

A few years ago, in a performance in Taiwan, Mr Li bounced around on stage, strumming his guitar and repeating a chorus in apparent tribute to the spirit of Chinese propaganda.

“The people don’t need freedom,” he sang energetically.

“This is the best era!” the crowd roared back. "The people don’t need freedom. This is the best era!”