Culture award winners announced

The Organization of the Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement (中華文化復興運動總會) yesterday announced the winners of the first "Presidential Culture Awards."

There were four winners for the five categories, with no prize awarded for environmental protection. Master Cheng Yen (證嚴法師), founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation in Hualien, won the prize for her devotion to social service.

Wu Shou-li (吳守禮), a 92-year-old lexicographer, was awarded for his effort to elevate art and literature. Physician Lin Tzeng-yi (林宗義) was praised for his dedication to promoting peace. The Association to Develop the Aboriginal Community in Mt Ali (山美社區發展協會) was awarded for their efforts to improve ethnic harmony.

Lin Kung-che (林公哲), professor of the environmental engineering department at National Taiwan University and one of the evaluation committee members in the category of environment protection, provided an explanation for withholding the award.

Lin said the members reached the decision on the grounds that Taiwan had been hit hard by several natural disasters, namely typhoons and floods, over the past year. These events damaged the environment and the committee did not want to create misconceptions that Taiwan had done a good job in dealing with the catastrophes by granting the award.

Committee members thus decided not to award the prize, hoping the public would review projects beginning considered to help protect the environment and improve the crisis facing the country.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) promised to grant these awards in a bid to ameliorate the deteriorating social order by selecting role models the public can follow.

The awards ceremony will take place at the Presidential Office in December.

The committee said it chose Master Cheng Yen for her long-time effort to spread Buddhism while carrying out social work, giving help and comfort to those neglected by society.

Professor Wu was honored for his lifetime research into the Taiwanese language, including his completion of a 2,863-page Practical Mandarin-Taiwanese Dictionary (國台對照活用辭典), according to the committee.

Lin Tzeng-yi's award was in recognition of his work to raise Taiwan's international profile and his efforts to promote peace. His father, Lin Mao-sheng (林茂生), disappeared during the 228 incident. Lin has been a leading campaigner for Taiwan's WHO membership.

The committee said it awarded the prize to the Association to Develop the Aboriginal Community in Alishan in recognition of the association's success in overcoming social and environmental obstacles in its efforts to promote the aboriginal region of Alishan in central Taiwan.

Vice President of the Judicial Yuan Cheng Chung-mo (城仲模), a committee member, said that the people and organizations being recognized deserved to be honored because they demonstrated their love to their homeland and engaged in difficult tasks without asking for any rewards.