Near the intersection of Beach Street and the John F. Fitzgerald Surface Road in Boston stands the Chinatown Gate, a traditional paifang gateway that marks the official entrance to the city’s Asian-American neighborhood. A small block of marble in the plaza outside the gateway memorializes what’s known in China as the June Fourth Incident, but more commonly referred to in the west as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. In April 1989, a student-led protest began in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square demanding free speech and democratic elections, as well as an end to…
