In 2018 and 2019, the promotion of the Tang Prize in the education sector has taken the Foundation to universities on both side of the Taiwan Strait for face-to-face interaction with students. The Foundation organized 12 academic talks on 14 campuses in Taiwan, sharing with young people the latest developments in the fields of Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology and Rule of Law, the four award categories that constitute the Tang Prize. In addition, the award ceremonies of the Gwang Hua Educational Scholarship held in top universities in China became the occasions where students were introduced to the philosophy behind the Tang Prize, in the hope that they will strive for academic excellence and one day be able to give back to society.
Believing that education is the foundation of a strong state and one should always repay the society that nourishes him, in 1989, Dr. Samuel Yin, chairman of the Ruentex Group, set up the Gwang Hua Educational Foundation, which during the past 30 years has benefited more than 160 thousand students, with around 20 thousand of them being ethnic minorities. It is indeed an admirable deed that has helped a great number of young talent. Then in 2012, he established the Tang Prize and listed 4 unique award categories, hoping to achieve his philanthropic goals on the global stage by encouraging more talented professionals to engage in innovative research that can lead the world to a better future.
To realize Dr. Yin’s dreams, 2019 also saw Dr. Jenn-Chuan Chern, CEO of both the Guanghua Scholarship Foundation and the Tang Prize Foundation as well as a board member of the Guanghua Scholarship Foundation, travel to top Chinese universities, including Nanjing University, China University of Technology, Zhejiang University, Tongji University, Fudan University, Xinjiang University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, to award the Gwang Hua Scholarship while urging students to achieve academic success and make sure that one day they will be able to pay back to their communities. Moreover, Dr. Chern used the opportunity to play a video showing Dr. Yin explaining the philosophy behind the Tang Prize, helping students understand Asia’s significance in relation to the rest of the world.
On the island of Taiwan, the Foundation reached 14 universities in total to give 12 talks about the achievements of the Tang Prize laureates, edifying around 1800 students in National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Ming Chuan University, Chinese Culture University, Tunghai University, National Changhua University of Education, National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, National Chung Hsing Senior High School, Taipei Municipal Yang Ming Senior High School, China Medical University, National Chung Cheng University, National Tainan First Senior High School, and Taipei Private Dongshan High School.
