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The world will never forget China’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, Taiwan’s president and the top US diplomat said on the 36th anniversary of an event Beijing treats as taboo.

The events in the Beijing square on June 4, 1989, when Chinese troops opened fire to end the student-led pro-democracy protests, are not publicly discussed in China and the anniversary is not officially marked.

Public commemorations now take place in overseas cities including Taipei where senior Taiwan government leaders often use the anniversary to criticise China and urge it to face up to what it did.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, in a post on [social media], praised the courage of those who took part in the protests, saying human rights are a concept shared by Taiwan and other democracies that transcend generations and borders.

“The commemoration of the June 4 Tiananmen incident is not only to mourn history, but also to perpetuate this memory,” said Lai, who Beijing detests as a “separatist” and has rejected his repeated offers of talks.

“Authoritarian governments often choose to silence and forget history, while democratic societies choose to preserve the truth and refuse to forget those who gave their lives - and their dreams - to the idea of human rights,” he added.

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