It is the day the Chinese Communist Party wants the world to forget.
But for survivor Fengsuo Zhou, the pain of what happened can't be erased.
"We were in the eye of a hurricane," he told SBS News from New York.
"If such a regime that could use tanks to kill civilians in its own capital, there is no limit to the violation of human rights."
On 4 June, 1989, the government sent troops and tanks to break up peaceful protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square organised by university students.
For weeks, the group had been demanding political and economic reform - and an end to corruption.
No official death toll from the crackdown exists but estimates run into the hundreds and the actual figure could even exceed 1,000.
Jeff Widener's iconic photo of the Tank Man has long called for China's government to "come clean" about the bloody events of June 1989. Source: AAP / Jeff Widener
He said China would be very different if the goals of the protesters had been achieved.
"The legacy of Tiananmen is that Chinese people want democracy and it was witnessed by the world. It was also demonstrated in the images like the and the [which was destroyed by the Chinese military].
"The fact that so many people died for this hope made it all the more precious."
Members of the diaspora from China and Hong Kong came togther for a candlelight vigil outside the Chinese Consulate in Sydney on 4 June 2022. Source: AAP / Mark Baker
China's government has scrubbed references to the crackdown on social media platforms and vigils have been banned in mainland China and Hong Kong.
Those who defy the orders face being arrested.
Hong Kongers living in Australia who attended the Sydney vigil at Martin Place, like Jennifer Chan, said a determined movement has grown overseas, driven by the diaspora who are concerned over the erosion of democracy in Hong Kong.
Months-long protests in 2019 were triggered over a controversial bill allowing the extradition of Chinese Communist Party critics from Hong Kong to China.
"It is a very important incident that marked the beginning of when Hong Kong people got to know more about mainland China," Ms Chan told SBS News.
"My parents was born in mainland China and moved to Hong Kong before 1949 [when Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People's Republic of China (PRC)]."
She said the 4 June incident marked a turning point when the "corruption and inhumanity [of the crackdown]" was exposed.
"I believe that every person who escaped from Hong Kong will feel the responsibility of spreading such a desire for democracy overseas," she said.
Also present at the Martin Place vigil was Cheng Yonglin, a former Chinese diplomat who defected to Australia in 2005.
He said the pain of what happened on 4 June 1989 can never be forgotten.
"My heart is always broken. I run out of tears," he told SBS News.
"I was at Tiananmen Square on the night of 3 June until 1 o'clock. I saw the helicopters, armoured vehicles and the soldiers and tanks at Tiananmen Square. And I heard the noise of the shooting while I was there.
"I locked arms with my friends and some other participants to march towards the regiment of soldiers emerging from Tiananmen Railway Station."
He said the diaspora do feel an even greater responsibility to ensure the event is not forgotten in the face of stronger efforts by the Chinese government to erase all traces of it.
An evening vigil was held outside the Chinese Consulate in Sydney on 4 June 2022 with those attending vowing to never forget what happened. Source: AAP / Mark Baker
Six universities in Hong Kong have now removed monuments marking the crackdown that had stood on their campuses for years.
The Australian Consulate-General in Hong Kong marked the anniversary with a tribute on social media.
"Today we remember those who lost their lives at Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989," the post read.
"Australia’s commitment to universal human rights is enduring. We continue to stand for every person’s right to freedom of expression, association, political participation and religion or belief."
In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday paid tribute to the lives lost on 4 June 1989.
"To the people of China and to those who continue to stand against injustice and seek freedom, we will not forget June 4," he said.
"The struggle for democracy and freedom continues to echo in Hong Kong, where the annual vigil to commemorate the massacre in Tiananmen Square was banned by the PRC and Hong Kong authorities in an attempt to suppress the memories of that day."
Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher for Human Rights Watch, said China's government has become more repressive in the years since Tiananmen, making it harder for survivors and their families to mark the occasion.
"I think a lot of young people don't even know this happened because of the internet censorship or the repression on press freedom. And for people who still try to commemorate the event, the government monitors those people," she told SBS News.
"They're blocking the phone calls of Tiananmen Mothers, the mothers of the children who died during the massacre.
"They're trying to constrain and put activists under house arrest so there would be no chance that there would be any kind of commemoration event to happen."
