A WTO conference has begun in Beijing, not the World Trade Organisation but the World Toilet Organisation.
Reporter: John Taylor (ABC Local Radio)
MARK COLVIN: A WTO conference has begun in Beijing ?no, not the World Trade Organisation, the World Toilet Organisation.
Dunnies are the topic of discussion at this international summit, and it''s arguably overdue.
As our China Correspondent John Taylor tells us, the toilets in China are notoriously awful.
JOHN TAYLOR: How long does it take to go to a toilet in China? Answer ?as long as you can hold your breath.
Across the nation, toilets are commonly real stinkers and mighty filthy.
In a poor neighbourhood in Beijing, homes don''t have their own toilets, and the public toilets get a lot of use.
"The smell, now it is pretty good," says one young man. "But in the summertime the smell is very strong and there are lots of flies," he says.
A local woman has the misfortune of owning a shop right beside the toilets.
"It affects my business," she says. "Sometimes, when people come and buy things, they say what smell is this? The smell is very disgusting, I will wait for a while, they say, and will come back again, but once they left, they wouldn''t come back again," she says.
The local toilet caretaker is defensive.
"You can''t say we can build all the toilets like luxury hotels. It''s not practical in this area," he says.
The state of China''s toilets is a common complaint among tourists.
VOX POP 1: I don''t think I could describe it, it''s not very nice, so I guess.
VOX POP 2: Well, I just think they''re dirty, and the smell, it''s just disgusting. I mean, I feel physically ill.
JOHN TAYLOR: The World Toilet Organisation, the other WTO, today began a three-day international summit in Beijing.
Founder Jack Sim says toilet hygiene is very much a public health issue.
JACK SIM: For example, if the toilet is dirty or smelly, you tend to suppress urination. And by suppressing urination over a period of time you have incontinence problems, you have bladder inflammation, you have urinal tract infection and you could have also kidney diseases.
JOHN TAYLOR: The WTO believes you feel like you are living in a civilized society if the toilets are clean.
JACK SIM: Toilets need not be dirty. Toilets can be an enjoyable place, and it should be because we visit it about six times a day and spend about three years of our entire life in the toilet. So we should enjoy it (laughs).
JOHN TAYLOR: China has been trying to clean up its toilets. In recent years hundreds of improved toilets have been built or renovated in Beijing. Today at the conference authorities were trumpeting their efforts.
With China hosting the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Mr Sim believes such efforts are very timely.
JACK SIM: When people come to see the Olympics they need first of all a good toilet. And the bigger effect is when they go back, when they go back home their friends will ask them, "I thought the toilet there are terrible". And they will say, "No you''re wrong. Nowadays it''s fantastic." And that will increase a lot of tourism coming into Beijing.
JOHN TAYLOR: Tourists will welcome the day.
VOX POP 3: The toilets in Beijing, as you know, are a historical nightmare. They''re awful.
VOX POP 4: Not great, but survivable.
JOHN TAYLOR: And incidentally, Friday is World Toilet Day.
