College Presidents Nominate Founder of Tzu Chi for Nobel Peace Prize

College Presidents Nominate Founder of Tzu Chi for Nobel Peace Prize

Source:  All Taipei Newspapers

October 12, 2010

Overseas Chinese in San Francisco recently held a signature collection drive to nominate Dharma Master Cheng Yen, founder of the Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation, for the Nobel Peace Prize. In order to bolster their nomination, they also sent letters to the presidents of many universities seeking support and received a considerable number of signatures.

A spokesperson for the Tzu Chi Foundation, which was founded by Dharma Master Cheng Yen in 1966, stated yesterday that it had not received any information about the signature drive. The spokesperson went on to say that if it were true that Master Cheng Yen was being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, it would bring global recognition to Tzu Chi’s mission of compassion and everyone involved would like to thank the public for their support.

Ling Tung University of Technology’s president Chen Chen-kuei, who is also the president of the Association of Private Universities and Colleges of Technology, confirmed that there was a signature drive to nominate Dharma Master Cheng Yen for the Nobel Peace Prize. Chen noted that Master Cheng Yen had led the Tzu Chi Foundation in assisting the underprivileged for over four decades. Moreover, the Tzu Chi Foundation had set up well-organized relief organizations around the world, and whenever a disaster occurred, Tzu Chi sent teams to participate in the relief efforts and comfort the victims, Chen added. He went on to say that such fruitful achievements and influence qualified Master Cheng Yen for the international honor of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Since 1966, under Master Cheng Yen’s instructions, the Tzu Chi Foundation has grown into a 4 million-member-strong charitable organization. For over four decades Tzu Chi has been making contributions in a vast range of areas, from charity work to medical care, from education to the humanities, providing services in remote areas within Taiwan and throughout the whole world. To date, the Tzu Chi Foundation has branches or contact points in 47 countries and has participated in relief efforts in 71 countries and areas throughout the world.

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