TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — “Chaos” (亂) has become the first Chinese character to be selected as representative of an entire year twice, following its triumph in 2008.

Its candidacy for 2019 was co-sponsored by Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee (李安) and education expert Richard Lee (李家同), Upmedia reported.

The vote for the character of the year has gone on for 12 years, attracting ever more public interest, according to reports. During 24 days of voting, the winner received 10,323 out of 79,915 votes, or almost 4,000 more than the second in line, “lie” (謊).

In a UDN interview, Lee said he hoped the year 2020 would see more harmony, understanding, and respect, with people showing more solidarity and consideration for each other.

Academics and experts had proposed a total of 42 characters to chose from, with the public allowed to cast votes and select the winner. The event was co-organized by UDN and the CTBC Foundation for Arts and Culture.