A multi-awarded Chinese woman journalist-activist has been missing for four days, with her friends and family believing that she may have been detained as part of the alleged gag efforts of the police ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre on 4 June 4.

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Family, colleagues, and friends of Gao Yu, a noted journalist and activist, said that her disappearance is allegedly meant to silence scholars and activists from discussing the upcoming event where thousands of student protesters were believed killed;

Yao Janfu, a friend of Gao, said the journalist was scheduled to attend a meeting in Beijing last Saturday together with former officials and scholars to discuss about the June 4 anniversary but unfortunately did not show up.

Tao said Gao has been out of contact for four days now and that the last time they talked on the telephone she said she would go to the gathering but didn't turn up. Afterwards, Gao could not be contacted anymore.

Gao Yun was imprisoned for years many times, staring in 1988 when she was detained for 14 months and from 1993-1999 over government accusations that she leaked sensitive and secret documents. She was released in 1999 on medical parole.

Teng Biao, a fellow scholar and lawyer said she had been missing for four days. Her editor at German news service Deutsche Welle said in a statement that Gao last emailed her column Wednesday and could not be contacted since then.

Gao's twitter messages showed that her last post was on April 23.

It is a well-known fact among activists in China that the government prohibits discussions of events such as the Tiananmen Massacre, as the anniversary nears, many will be imprisoned as part of the government's gag order.

Gao spent years in prison in China for her explosive articles against the government. In 1988, she wrote an article for HongKong's Mirror Monthly which the mayor said was inciting "turmoil and rebellion." She was detained for 14 months.

Gao received a UNESCO award which was the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in 1997. While in prison for the second time, she received the Courage in Journalism award in 1996 from the International Women's Media Awards Foundation.