A Taiwanese minister has caused widespread debate on hygiene by suggesting that men should sit down while urinating instead of standing up.
Stephen Shen, Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) minister, said that sitting on the toilet like women do creates a cleaner environment. The statement has generated a lot of online debate.
Officials are to ask local governments to put up notices in public places advising men to sit when urinating. While many women on social media Web sites favor the suggestion, many men say it would be hard to suddenly change the habit.
Inspectors regularly inspect and grade Taiwan’s estimated 100,000 public toilets, with most of them receiving high marks. But EPA officials say there is room for improvement, as some toilets are still smelly because of urine spatter.
1. urinate v.
排尿 (pai2 niao4)
例: Some patients experience difficulty urinating after surgery.
2. put up v. phr.
張貼 (zhang1 tie1)
例: They put up posters all over town advertising the circus.
3. spatter n.
噴濺 (pen1 jian4)
例: She got paint spatter all over her new shirt.