TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan has selected "Bà" (罷), meaning "stop" or "dismiss," as its word of the year for 2025, officials announced Wednesday (Dec. 10). The character won with over 15,000 public votes, reflecting the island's turbulent political climate marked by a wave of recall elections (罷免, Bàmiǎn) sweeping across the nation. The selection saw "Bà" (罷) surpass "Zhà" (詐, fraud) with more than 7,500 votes and "Yān" (淹, flood) with over 6,000 votes.
United Daily News (聯合報), a Taiwanese news outlet, organized the poll in its 18th year. The poll gathered 60 characters recommended from various figures before opening for public voting. Olympic boxing gold medalist Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) participated in a calligraphy demonstration at the announcement event with a student who won a calligraphy competition.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), along with lawmakers Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) and Chang Chi-kai (張啓楷), endorsed the winning character. Wang Mao-chen (王茂臻), editor-in-chief of United Daily News, emphasized the character "Bà" (罷) reflects the current political situation. He noted the wave of recalls across Taiwan significantly influenced its selection as the word of the year.
Some citizens believe the second-place character "詐," meaning frauds or scams, also holds significant meaning as such issues have grown into major societal concerns in Taiwan. Previous years saw the selection of critical terms like "Tān" (貪), meaning "greedy," in 2024 and "Quē" (缺), meaning "lack," in 2023. ◼