No more noodles with your bathroom break
REUTERS In keeping with Passport‘s tradition of updating our readers about toilets in China, we have the latest news: There will be no more food stalls attached to public toilets in Beijing. The Beijing Municipal Commission has decided that “It is not proper to sell soft drinks or snacks right at the toilets,” which up ...
REUTERS
In keeping with Passport's tradition of updating our readers about toilets in China, we have the latest news: There will be no more food stalls attached to public toilets in Beijing. The Beijing Municipal Commission has decided that "It is not proper to sell soft drinks or snacks right at the toilets," which up till now had been permitted. The city government is also planning to publish a toilet guide and offer telephone and Internet services containing information to help toilet users.
What's the motivation for these efforts? The 2008 Beijing Olympics, of course. China is making a huge effort to crack down on poor public hygiene and improve social etiquette. Earlier this year, China initiated an effort to curb public spitting, cursing and littering, and promote orderly queues. Even poorly-translated English signs in China are getting the boot. But for all the cosmetic changes, it seems that some things aren't changing so quickly: press freedoms and protection for human rights.
In keeping with Passport‘s tradition of updating our readers about toilets in China, we have the latest news: There will be no more food stalls attached to public toilets in Beijing. The Beijing Municipal Commission has decided that “It is not proper to sell soft drinks or snacks right at the toilets,” which up till now had been permitted. The city government is also planning to publish a toilet guide and offer telephone and Internet services containing information to help toilet users.
What’s the motivation for these efforts? The 2008 Beijing Olympics, of course. China is making a huge effort to crack down on poor public hygiene and improve social etiquette. Earlier this year, China initiated an effort to curb public spitting, cursing and littering, and promote orderly queues. Even poorly-translated English signs in China are getting the boot. But for all the cosmetic changes, it seems that some things aren’t changing so quickly: press freedoms and protection for human rights.
More from Foreign Policy


Is Cold War Inevitable?
A new biography of George Kennan, the father of containment, raises questions about whether the old Cold War—and the emerging one with China—could have been avoided.


So You Want to Buy an Ambassadorship
The United States is the only Western government that routinely rewards mega-donors with top diplomatic posts.


Can China Pull Off Its Charm Offensive?
Why Beijing’s foreign-policy reset will—or won’t—work out.


Turkey’s Problem Isn’t Sweden. It’s the United States.
Erdogan has focused on Stockholm’s stance toward Kurdish exile groups, but Ankara’s real demand is the end of U.S. support for Kurds in Syria.