On June 21, Academia Sinica—Taiwan’s top research institution—announced the fourth and final winner of the inaugural Tang Prize. Albie Sachs of Yale Law School won in the rule of law category, joining Yu Ying-shih of Academia Sinica for Sinology, Dr. Tasuku Honjo of Japan’s Kyoto University and U.S. immunologist James P. Allison for biopharmaceutical science and former Norwegian Prime Minister Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland for sustainable development.
Sachs was recognized for his numerous contributions to human rights and justice through an understanding of the rule of law in which the dignity of all is respected and the strengths and values of all communities embraced; Yu for his mastery of and insight into Chinese cultural, intellectual and political history with an emphasis on extensive research into the history of intellectuals in China; Allison and Honjo for their respective discoveries of CTLA-4 and PD-1 as immune inhibitory molecules leading to applications in cancer immunotherapy; and Brundtland for her innovation, leadership and implementation of sustainable development.
Each category provides the winners with a cash prize of NT$40 million (US$1.3 million) and research grant of NT$10 million. The awards will formally be presented at a ceremony Sept. 18 in Taipei City.
Established by Taiwan entrepreneur Samuel Yin in December 2012, the biennial prize takes its name from the Tang dynasty (618-907), a period considered the peak of ancient Chinese civilization. It was also one characterized by international exchanges and robust cultural activities. The open-mindedness exhibited by the Tang people in embracing different cultures underlies the core values of the prize.
There is no question that the prize is a valuable initiative showcasing Taiwan’s soft power and desire to make the world a better place. In providing a platform where exceptional international minds can come together and participate in meaningful dialogue, the prize is addressing new challenges of the modern world by combining millennium-old wisdom of the East with the cutting-edge technology of the West.
Although it is early days yet, the prize has captured the imagination of global opinion shapers. It is regularly touted in the media as Asia’s Nobel Prize, and praised for sharing the same progressive spirit in encouraging innovative research and promoting human development. But its defining value, as evidenced by the lineup of 2014 category winners, lies in the priority it places on forging a cross-disciplinary approach with practical applications.
In this way, the prize is spurring society to advance to the next level and take immediate action on the issues of climate change, epidemic diseases and resource deficiency. Only across-the-board rather than piecemeal knowledge can produce feasible solutions and sustainable development, fundamental precepts championed by the prize as essential to the existence of humanity in the 21st century.
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw