This is a letter I received from Noam Chomsky in 1998, on MIT watermarked stationary, hand-typed and
This is a letter I received from Noam Chomsky in 1998, on MIT watermarked stationary, hand-typed and signed by the renowned linguist himself. I’d been working with activists at South End Press and had just written a 15,000-word essay on the history between Tibet, China, and the US. My article explored the complex twists and turns in the past 1,000 years of official relations between Tibet and China, as well as the US history of imperialist intervention which underpins common US attitudes toward Tibet and China. Chomsky heard about my work and sent me an email requesting a copy of my manuscript. I hastily complied. About a month later, I received this letter. Even more startling, I once heard Chomsky mention my name when he was asked a question about Tibet and China; he said something like, “You can read work by activists like Kai Chang who has written on this issue.”Aside from the abject showing-off to which I’m prone, I’m bringing this up because eventually I’ll probably have to discuss this history in this space. It’s a subject people tend to get very worked up about, so I feel obligated to lay down this background before even speaking on it. My basic view is that US activists would do better working to Free Hawaii, and returning California, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico to Mexico, rather than intervening halfway around the world in a situation they probably don’t fully comprehend. This isn’t a knee-jerk reaction, this is a considered conclusion built upon many years of research, reflection, and lived experience in China and Tibet and among Tibetans in Sichuan, as well as my observations and analysis of US liberal imperialism. That’s why I value what Chomsky told me in the letter: “Won’t be popular, but needs to be said.” -- source link