Tang Prize

In the advent of industrialization and globalization, humanity has greatly enjoyed the convenience brought about by science and technology. Yet, humanity also faces a multitude of critical environmental, socio-cultural, and ethical issues on an unparalleled scale, such as climate change, inequality, and moral degradation. Against this backdrop, a Taiwanese entrepreneur Samuel Yin established the Tang Prize Foundation in December 2012.

With the aim to recognize and support contributors for their revolutionary efforts in the research fields critical to the 21st century, the Tang Prize is global in reach. Laureates are selected on the basis of the originality of their work along with their contributions to society, irrespective of gender, religion, ethnicity, or nationality.[1]

The award categories of the Tang Prize include Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology, and Rule of Law.[2]

The Prize in Sustainable Development recognizes those who have made extraordinary contributions to the sustainable development of human societies, especially through groundbreaking innovations in science and technology.

The Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science recognizes original biopharmaceutical or biomedical research that has led to significant advances towards preventing, diagnosing and/or treating major human diseases to improve human health.

The Prize in Sinology recognizes the study of Sinology in its broadest sense, awarding research on China and its related fields, such as Chinese thought, history, philology, linguistics, archaeology, philosophy, religion, traditional canons, literature, and art (excluding literary and art works). Honoring innovations in the field of Sinology, the Prize showcases Chinese culture and its contributions to the development of human civilization.

The Prize in Rule of Law recognizes individual(s) or institution(s) who have made significant contributions to the rule of law, reflected not only in the achievement of the candidate(s) in terms of the advancement of legal theory or practice, but also in the realization of the rule of law in contemporary societies through the influences or inspiration of the work of the candidate(s).[3]

Each laureate receives a Tang Prize medal and diploma. In addition, NT$40 million (US$1.3 million) cash prize is awarded in each category, as well as a research grant of NT$10 million (US$0.33 million), for a total of NT$50 million (US$1.63 million). Should two, or up to three, candidates receive an award in the same category, the cash prize and research grant are shared.[4]

Year	Field	Name	Nationality	Citation
2020	Rule of Law	Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association	Bangladesh	"for their efforts in furthering the rule of law and its institutions through education and advocacy. Utilizing innovative strategic litigation, reinforced by rigorous scholarship, these organizations have demonstrated exemplary perseverance in promoting greater individual, social and environmental justice, in milieus where the foundations of the rule of law are under severe challenge."[5]
		Dejusticia: The Center for Law, Justice and Society	Colombia
		The Legal Agenda	Lebanon
	Sinology	Wang Gungwu	Australia	"for his ground-breaking research on the Chinese world order, Chinese overseas, and Chinese migratory experience."[6]
	Biopharmaceutical Science	Charles Dinarello	United States	"for the development of cytokine-targeting biological therapies for the treatment of inflammatory diseases."[7]
		Marc Feldmann	Australia  United Kingdom
		Tadamitsu Kishimoto	Japan
	Sustainable Development	Jane Goodall	United Kingdom	"Jane Goodall, recognizing her ground-breaking discovery in primatology that redefines human-animal relationship and her lifelong, unparalleled dedication to the conservation of Earth environment.."[8]
2018	Rule of Law	Joseph Raz	United Kingdom  Israel	"for his path-breaking contributions to the rule of law, and for deepening our understanding of the very nature of law, legal reasoning, and the relationship between law, morality and freedom."[9]
	Sinology	Stephen Owen	United States	"for his penetrating scholarship and theoretical ingenuity in Classical Chinese prose and poetry, especially Tang poetry and its translation."[10]
		Yoshinobu Shiba	Japan	"for his mastery and depth of insight in Chinese social-economic history achieved through his original theoretical lens that fuses the distinctive fortes of Chinese, Japanese, and Western scholarship."[11]
	Biopharmaceutical Science	Anthony R. Hunter	United States	"for the discovery of protein tyrosine phosphorylation and tyrosine kinases as oncogenes, leading to successful targeted cancer therapies."[12]
		Brian J. Druker	United States
		John Mendelsohn	United States
	Sustainable Development	James E. Hansen	United States	"for sounding the alarm on climate change, elucidating the physics of climate forcings and feedbacks,quantifying the dangers of global warming, and tirelessly advocating meaningful action and solutions."[13]
		Veerabhadran Ramanathan	India	"for making seminal contributions to our fundamental understanding of climate change and impacts of air pollution, and taking direct action to advocate and facilitate effective mitigation policies."[14]
2016	Rule of Law	Louise Arbour	Canada	"for her enduring contributions to international criminal justice and the protection of human rights, to promoting peace, justice and security at home and abroad, and to working within the law to expand the frontiers of freedom for all."[15]
	Sinology	William Theodore de Bary	United States	"for his pioneering contributions in Confucian studies. In his remarkable academic career spanning over seven decades, he has written and edited over 30 books with many of them making ground-breaking contributions that provide both enlightening insight and honest critique into Confucianism."[16]
	Biopharmaceutical Science	Emmanuelle Charpentier	France	"for the development of CRISPR/Cas9 as a breakthrough genome editing platform that promises to revolutionize biomedical research and disease treatment."[17]
		Jennifer Doudna	United States
		Feng Zhang	United States
	Sustainable Development	Arthur H. Rosenfeld	United States	"for his lifelong and pioneering innovations in energy efficiency resulting in immense reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions around the world."[18]
2014	Rule of Law	Albie Sachs	South Africa	"for his many contributions to human rights and justice globally through an understanding of the rule of law in which the dignity of all persons is respected and the strengths and values of all communities are embraced, in particular through his efforts in the realization of the rule of law in a free and democratic South Africa, working as activist, lawyer, scholar, and framer of a new Constitution to heal the divisions of the past and to establishing a society that respects diversity and is based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights."[19]
	Sinology	Yu Ying-shih	United States	"for his mastery of and insight into Chinese intellectual, political, and cultural history with an emphasis on his profound research into the history of public intellectuals in China."[20]
	Biopharmaceutical Science	James P. Allison	United States	"for the discoveries of CTLA-4 and PD-1 as immune inhibitory molecules that led to their applications in cancer immunotherapy."[21] Two winners then won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine together in 2018.
		Tasuku Honjo	Japan
	Sustainable Development	Gro Harlem Brundtland	Norway	"for her innovation, leadership and implementation of sustainable development that laid out the scientific and technical challenges for the global community to achieve a better balance of economic development, environmental integrity, and social equality for the benefit of all humanity."[22][23]

List of countries by laureates

Until 2020.

Rank	Country	Laureates
1	United States	13
2=	Japan	3
2=	United Kingdom	3
3	Australia	2
4=	Norway	1
4=	South Africa	1
4=	France	1
4=	Canada	1
4=	India	1
4=	Israel	1
4=	Bangladesh	1
4=	Colombia	1
4=	Lebanon	1

Nomination and selection for the first and second Tang Prize cycles (2013-2014 and 2015-2016, respectively) were conducted by the Academica Sinica on commission of the Tang Prize Foundation; beginning with the third prize cycle (2017-2018), nomination and selection are now conducted by an independent selection committee which is formed in partial cooperation with the Academia Sinica.

The Tang Prize Selection Committee is composed of four separate committees, one per prize category. The committees invite respected scholars and institutions from around the world, including many Nobel laureates, to submit nominees, ensuring those nominated have attained a sufficient level of achievement.[24]

Events during the award year:

• List of environmental awards

• Official Website