(Photo: Xinhua)

BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- An annual campaign to select the 2019 Chinese Character and Word of the Year began Wednesday.

The event will select Chinese words and phrases which are newly created or widely used online based on experts' opinions and big data to highlight the changes of China and the world this year, according to the organizers, the Chinese National Language Monitoring and Research Center and the Commercial Press.

This year's event will run for a month in three stages. From Nov. 20 to Dec. 3, people can submit words and ask related questions online.

Between Dec. 4 and 8, experts will review the words and create a list of candidates, before the public ballot opens from Dec. 9 to 19. The results will be announced on Dec. 20.

The list of proposed words and phrases by the Chinese National Language Monitoring and Research Center included "Open," "Business" and "Wall." Experts listed "Tax," "5G" and "parade" among their recommendations for the 2019 characters and words.

The event has been held for 14 consecutive years.