THE Chinese character for dream — “meng” — has been named 2012 character of the year for China, Chinanews.com reported Dec. 12.

    Candidates were selected from print media, TV, radio and the Internet and the winner was chosen by the National Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center, Commercial Press and China Network Television.

    The award was first presented in 2006.

    The character “meng” is considered to reflect the realization of China’s dreams — hosting the Olympic Games, space exploration, a China-made aircraft carrier, and a Nobel Prize-winning author. Other top choices were “Diaoyu,” “heng” (check and balance) and “xuanju” (election).

    “Diaoyu,” which indicates the Sino-Japanese tension over the Diaoyu Islands, reflects people’s concern over national dignity. The character “heng” and the word “xuanju” were chosen as international characters of the year, as they reflect people’s interests in elections across the globe in 2012 and their concern over the balance of power. (SD-Agencies)