Chomsky denies being deceived in media dispute

Noam Chomsky, no stranger to controversy

The MIT professor said that he was not ‘misled’ by student Lin Ting-an, as the Want Want China Times Group has alleged 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Noam Chomsky yesterday sought to clarify matters regarding allegations by media owned by the Want Want China Times Group (旺旺中時集團) this week that he had said he was “misled” by a Taiwanese student who asked him to have his picture taken with a placard opposing media monopolization in Taiwan. 

In a series of articles on Thursday, the Chinese-language China Times, one of the many publications owned by the group, claimed that Chomsky, along with New York University (NYU) professor Ned Block, were “misled” by not having the full content of the Chinese message on the placard explained to them. The controversy centered on the part of the text that read in Mandarin: “Say no to China’s black hands,” a reference to Chinese influence in Taiwanese media. 

Several articles and commentaries on talk shows run on TV stations controlled by Want Want vilified Lin Ting-an (林庭安), a graduate student at National Yang Ming University’s Institute of Philosophy of Mind and Cognition, who approached Chomsky for his support. The reports accused her of misrepresenting the facts to the 84-year-old professor. 

Chomsky, who said he had been deluged with letters about the controversy from individuals and the media, clarified his stance in an e-mail yesterday, which he said also stood for Block. 

My article, published today in the Taipei Times, continues here.