When Mao Zedong was building up support to eventually conquer China he famously declared: \u201cA revolution is not a dinner party.\u201d And Chinese\u00a0president Xi Jinping\u2019s\u00a0mission to \u201crevolutionise\u201d the country\u2019s toilets is certainly a far cry from hors d\u2019oeuvres.<\/p>\n
Xi has stressed the need to upgrade China\u2019s toilets in order to build a more civilised society and improve the hygiene of the masses. He first launched the \u201ctoilet revolution\u201d in 2015, initially aimed at building better bathrooms at tourist sites.<\/p>\n
The stench and filth of many Chinese toilets horrifies foreigners.<\/p>\n
But the latest campaign is also about improving the bathroom experience for the domestic populations. Xi has reminded cadres of the need to carry out the toilet tumult until the end, perhaps akin to Marx\u2019s permanent revolution, and encouraged officials to continue to modernise tourist bathrooms while expanding the push to rural homes.<\/p>\n
Many country loos are simple pit toilets and lack plumbing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe toilet issue is no small thing, it\u2019s an important aspect of building civilised cities and countryside,\u201d Xi said in a front-page article in the People\u2019s Daily, the Communist party mouthpiece.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis work must be a concrete part of advancing our country\u2019s revitalisation strategy and we must make great efforts to fill these shortcomings that affect the quality of life of the masses.\u201d<\/p>\n
During Xi\u2019s visits to the countryside he has often checked on the loos in rural homes to see if residents use pit toilets. Earlier this month at an important Communist party meeting he said meeting the public\u2019s expectations for a better quality of life was the party\u2019s main challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is still a yawning gap between China\u2019s strong economic development and people\u2019s standard of living. A beautiful environment and hygienic toilets are essential to a good standard,\u201d Bai Lin, China project manager with the World Toilet Organisation, told the South\u00a0China\u00a0Morning Post.<\/p>\n
The National Tourism Administration\u00a0announced plans\u00a0last week to build and upgrade 64,000 toilets between 2018 and 2020 as part of a plan titled Advance the Toilet Revolution Steadily. China\u2019s tourism industry has already upgraded 68,000 loos in the past three years, or about 19% of its target, as part of \u201cuniversally welcomed\u201d renovations, according to state news agency Xinhua.<\/p>\n
While the United Nations has declared 19 November\u00a0World Toilet Day, Chinese authorities have taken that one step further, branding the event \u201cWorld Toilet Day and China Toilet Revolution Awareness Day\u201d.<\/p>\n
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–<\/p>\n
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Source: The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Mao Zedong was building up support to eventually conquer China he famously declared: \u201cA revolution is not a dinner party.\u201d And Chinese\u00a0president Xi Jinping\u2019s\u00a0mission to \u201crevolutionise\u201d the country\u2019s toilets is certainly a far cry from hors d\u2019oeuvres. Xi has stressed the need to upgrade China\u2019s toilets in order to build a more civilised society […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":378270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[139,15008,1252],"yoast_head":"\n