TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Media OutReach - 11 September 2020 - To explore issues complicated by thecoronavirus, including sustainable development, climate change andenvironmental protection, the Tang Prize Foundation and National Tsing HuaUniversity will co-host the 2020 Tang Prize Masters' Forum for SustainableDevelopment, taking place at 4p.m. (GMT+8) Taiwan time, on September 21.Livestreamed on the Foundation's website (https://www.tang-prize.org/en/week.php?cat=94)with Chinese andEnglish settings available, this forum features several Tang Prize laureateswho, though unable to travel to Taiwan due to the pandemic, will deliver theirspeeches, take part in roundtable discussions and answer the audience'squestions via videoconferencing. This special organization is not only toreflect how the pandemic has undoubtedly changed the way we used to live butalso to show the Foundation's determination to provide a platform for peoplearound the world to have serious conversations on topics closely related tosustainable development and thus to become more alert to possible dangerscaused by mankind's disregard of ecological balance.  

Economic development, environmentalconservation, and social justice are the three pillars of sustainabledevelopment, at the core of which is ecological conservation, the main theme ofthis forum. In addition to the moderator, President of Taiwan's Academia SinicaDr. James Liao, and the keynote speaker, 2020 Tang Prize winner in SustainableDevelopment Dr. Jane Goodall, three previous Tang Prize laureates will alsocontribute their professional opinions. They are Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, formerdirector-general of the WHO, Dr. James Hansen, director of the Program onClimate Science, Awareness and Solutions in the Earth Institute at ColombiaUniversity, and Prof. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Edward A. Frieman EndowedPresidential Chair in Climate Sustainability in UC San Diego. Moreover, Prof.Huey-Jen Jenny Su, president of National Cheng Kung University, and Prof.Chia-Wei Li from the Department of Life Science at National Tsing HuaUniversity will serve as panelists. These experts will take us through problemsmagnified during the pandemic, such as social and economic inequalities,climate change, and the relationship between humans, animals and nature, all ofwhich will have profound impact on sustainable development.      

In her speech,"Ecological Conservation and Sustainable Development of Human Society: TheImpact of COVID-19 Pandemic," Dr. Goodall will elaborate on how animals andspecies have been forced to move away from their usual habitats because ofmankind's exploitation and disrespect of nature. This could create situationswhere species that normally wouldn't be in touch at all end up coming intocontact with one another, or animals go into cities in search of food. Thecurrent pandemic is thought to have started because we traffic and sellwildlife in markets, making it easier for a pathogen to jump from an animal toa human.

Thrown into a global health emergency, wehave witnessed how our lives have been disrupted and how our wisdom andresponses to crises have been put to test. Therefore, the Tang Prize Foundationcordially invite you to join us in this forum and learn about the masters'insight as to how to realize sustainable development under these tryingcircumstances.

About Tang Prize

Dr.Samuel Yin, chairman of Ruentex Group, founded the Tang Prize in December of2012 as an extension of the supreme value his family placed on education.Harkening back to the golden age of the Tang Dynasty in Chinese history, theTang Prize seeks to be an inspiring force for people working in all corners ofthe world. For more information on the Tang Prize and its laureates, pleasevisit www.tang-prize.org