Long march to the 'toilet revolution
By Xu Shengsheng (Shanghai Star)
Updated: 2004-07-12 09:06

One meaning of the English word "convenience" is "a public toilet". And its Chinese equivalent, fang bian, when used euphemistically as a verb, can mean "to go to the toilet". So in both the English and Chinese languages, the word "convenience" has to do with a place that provides people with the convenience to take care of their needs.

Nowadays in Shanghai, however, the dearth of decent public toilets has become an increasingly urgent problem for the city authorities in their bid to establish the city as a universally acknowledged genuine metropolis. It's not only the scarcity of public rest rooms, especially for the fair sex, but also their poor quality and sanitary conditions that the city has to face squarely.

Chinese public washrooms have long earned themselves a reputation of being notoriously foul public places in which one may satisfy the everyday calls of nature. Convenience is thus turned into inconvenience and filthy toilets are among the top complaints made by tourists from both home and abroad. Generally speaking, the situation in other major cities across the country is roughly the same. And in small towns and rural areas, the state of the toilets can hit one like a ton of bricks.

Shanghai is now developing at breakneck speed into a more trendy, luxury-loving society. All over this vibrant city, modern apartment towers, glitzy entertainment centres, hotels, mega-malls for shopping and franchise stores are rising everywhere. Why then have public washrooms been allowed to become such a headache for locals as well as visitors from overseas?

Firstly, those in power tend to attach much more importance to the construction of high-rise buildings than public rest rooms which are not as glamorous when compared with skyscrapers. As far as the people in authority are concerned, high-rises that stand in stark relief against the city's skyline will earn them more merit in their official careers.

Secondly, the building of public facilities like toilets is a relatively simple job and has not attracted enough attention from city planners. And after all, inadequate and foul loos are not likely to have very serious consequences and material damage or loss is not involved.

Although complaints about the poor state of public conveniences may be loud, they fall on deaf ears. The city's officials have failed to see that "easy" jobs are not necessarily non-essential jobs.

As a matter of fact, public lavatories are a very important component of a city's infrastructure from a practical point of view. Probably many of us have experienced the great annoyance you feel when suddenly you have to answer an urgent call of nature while out on the street yet you are unable to find a decent washroom. Despite the huge vexation it certainly causes, many of us have become so accustomed to it that we look upon it as a "normal" phenomenon or something laughable.

This reminds me of a noteworthy visit made by a Chinese American scholar to a well-known university in eastern China years ago. The professor of chemistry was on an inspection tour of the university with the intention of starting up a laboratory jointly with the school for academic research in some specialised field. The very first request he made of the president of the university on his arrival was to have a look at the toilets.

This put the university in an extremely awkward position. Well, you can guess the sight the toilets presented. Thereupon the president pledged do his utmost to carry out a thorough renovation of all the washrooms in the university and he asked the American professor to come back in three months time. The visit triggered a campaign to refurbish all the toilets on campus. And the story had a happy ending when the joint laboratory project went ahead. This is a true story that happened in Nanjing University of neighbouring Jiangsu Province.

Asked why he should have chosen such offbeat venues for a spot-check, the American academic said that while the state of public facilities may not be directly associated with how a management handles major issues, those who are thoughtful enough to keep the usually revolting facilities in good order will undoubtedly make outstanding executives. Besides, tidy, clean and well-managed restrooms reflect the spirit of the leadership in some way.

I think there is something important in his remarks. The same even holds true in assessing how well a household is functioning. Can't those in authority take something out of the scholar's statement?

Now there is some good news on the horizon. Local officials are reported to be bracing themselves for a campaign to clean up the city's public toilets. Steps are being taken to increase the number of public toilets, put the gender balance right and improve management and service. And new types of toilets and urinal systems will be introduced. A target has been set to provide a public toilet every 150 metres in the downtown area. The "toilet revolution", long overdue, is gathering momentum.

A widely publicized slogan says that there are no trifling matters where the interests of the masses are concerned. Actually making public conveniences convenient for the people is something not to be ignored. Hopefully in the near future when I go strolling around the streets, I won't be so desperate as to sneak into a McDonald's or KFC to relieve myself!

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