Manila (AsiaNews) – A Filipino nationalist at the forefront of struggle for democracy during and after Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorship, and a South Korean minister who dedicated his life to curing blindness are among the seven winners of the 2007 “Ramon Magsaysay Award”, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize.  The organisers of the event made the announcement adding that among the prize winners were also three Chinese human rights activists, an Indian journalist and a Nepalese engineer for his groundbreaking studies into communications.

Former Philippine Senate president Jovito R. Salonga, 87, won the award for government service for tirelessly fighting for the rule of law, honest and competent government and showing compassion for the poor -- democratic and social ideals that were not always easy to find in the Philippines under former Philippine president Marcos. A law graduate and senator, he was crippled by a bomb blast at a political rally in 1971, a year before Marcos declared martial law. He fought Marcos' iron-fisted rule by defending the president's opponents and working for the release of political prisoners. He was briefly jailed in 1980 and spent four years in US exile. Salonga returned a year before Marcos was ousted in the "people power" revolt and put his personal ambitions aside to back Corazon Aquino, the pro-democracy icon who succeeded Marcos. Organizers said Salonga’s “rare moral authority stems from a simple fact: he practices what he preaches”.

The foundation, honoured the Reverend Kim Sun-tae, 66, from South Korea, for public service for devoting himself to a hospital dedicated to treating and curing blindness. During the Korean War, Kim was blinded by a mortar shell, but soon learned to read Korean Braille and to type. The Korean Presbyterian Church named Kim director of Blind Evangelical Missions. In 1997, Kim opened Korea's largest rehabilitation and learning centre to help blind people cope with daily life. Thanks to his help, more than 20,000 people have received free eye surgery, and 200,000 more have been treated at the hospital.

Below follows a list of other award winners:

Mahabir Pun, 52, received the community leadership award for his innovative application of wireless computer technology, setting up a wireless network to link local schools and villages, changing the lives of residents in these once-isolated areas.

Journalist Palagummi Sainath, 50, was named for his reporting on vital social issues in India focusing on the plight of the rural poor, a sector ignored by much of India's press.

Tang Xiyang, 77, one of the leaders of the environmental movement in China. He founded an environmental magazine and organized "green camps" that introduced Chinese students to the need to protect wildlife in their country.

Finally, Chung To and Chen Guangcheng also of China won the emergent leadership awards. Chung's AIDS Orphans Project provides children who have an AIDS-infected parent with school fees.

The awards will be given August 31 in Manila when they will receive a medallion, a certificate and a cash prize.