Since the outbreak of COVID-19, more than 530 million inflections have been 
reported globally. With the virus still raging in many countries, the world is 
suffering from supply chain disruptions and decade-high inflation, which has 
been exacerbated by the rising food and fuel prices due to regional conflicts. 
Political tensions in the international community also mean no one country can 
be immune to the adversities mentioned above. In addition, the European Union's 
CBAM is scheduled to be implemented with a transitional period in 2023, and it 
is expected that the US, the UK, and Japan will follow suit soon. How would 
different governments react to the pressure of achieving net zero by 2050? Six 
laureates of the 2022 Tang Prize, newly introduced to the public in four press 
conferences taking place from June 18 to 21, have all shown selfless devotion 
to the advancement of human civilization and the improvement of the wellbeing 
of humanity. It is, thus, our sincere belief that their outstanding 
contributions to their individual disciplines and the insightful views they 
have expressed can bring stability and new opportunities to a world at a 
critical juncture at the moment.

In 2022, the Tang Prize in Sustainable Development was awarded to Jeffrey 
Sachs. A world renowned professor of economics who served as Special Advisor to 
three UN Secretaries-General, Professor Sachs is currently Director of the 
Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and President of the 
UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). He has made important 
contribution to the establishment and promotion of the UN Sustainable 
Development Goals (SDGs) and was recognized by the Selection Committee for 
"leading transdisciplinary sustainability science and creating the multilateral 
movement for its applications from village to nation and to the world."     

The Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science went to three scientists who played a 
critical role in the development of SARS-CoV2 mRNA vaccines: Katalin Kariko, 
Drew Weissman, and Pieter Cullis, "for the discovery of key vaccinology 
concepts and approaches, leading to successful development mRNA-based COVID-19 
vaccine," according to the Selection Committee's citation. The breakthrough 
discoveries of these three laureates and the ingenious approaches they 
pioneered are the key to the rapid and successful development of vaccines 
against SARS-CoV-2. While Dr. Kariko and Dr. Weissman found a way to reduce the 
immunogenicity of mRNA, Prof. Cullis is credited with designing lipid 
nanoparticles for the delivery of mRNA vaccines. 

The Prize in Sinology is awarded to Professor Dame Jessica Rawson, "for her 
gift and mastery of the craft of the visible to read the art and artifacts of 
Chinese civilization. By giving voice to the ancient world of objects, she has 
taught generations how to see when they look at things, and her acuity and vast 
visual learning have given new insight into the world of the lineages, 
transformations, and migrations of mute things."

Her contributions show that, besides the written word, there is another talent, 
another craft, which, by reading the art and artifacts of the world, allows us 
to interpret and understand distant and ancient societies, with their beliefs 
and interactions. Professor Rawson has taken this approach in her study of 
Chinese bronzes and jades, ancient Chinese tombs, and most especially in the 
exchanges between the peoples of the central China and their neighbors. In 
short, her original and trailblazing achievements in the archaeology of China 
and Inner Asia have revolutionized and broadened our understanding of early 
contact and exchange between the East and the West.

Professor Cheryl Saunders won the Prize in Rule of Law, for "her pioneering 
contributions to comparative constitutional law, and in particular her work on 
constitutions-building in the Asia-Pacific region." In the citation, the 
Selection Committee paid tribute to her working methods, noting that she 
applies "her scholarship to inspire and advise constitution-making exercises, 
often under challenging circumstances," and that she "consistently broadens the 
boundaries of comparative constitutional law scholarship through active 
engagement, dialogue and collaboration with scholars and political actors at 
home and abroad."

As the first woman to be appointed a law professor at the University of 
Melbourne, Professor Saunders has been made an officer of the Order Australia, 
awarded the Australian Centenary Medal, and Legion d'Honneur of France, and 
granted an honorary doctorate from the National University of Cordoba. 
Currently Laureate Professor Emeritus at the University of Melbourne, Professor 
Saunders is not only a pioneer in comparative constitutional studies but also 
an academic practitioner. She places special emphasis on an inclusive approach 
to comparative constitutional studies, advocating for incorporating 
constitutional experience from all over the world into our thinking, which 
broadens the vision of studies of comparative constitutional law beyond 
focusing on developments in Europe and North America.

SOURCE: The Tang Prize Foundation 

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   Caption: 2022 Tang Prize Laureates