The privatization of public toilets reflects the reality of insufficient public services and privatization of public resources. Public toilets shall be private, and shall not be used casually. Once casual, public convenience becomes a problem.
"The public toilets are free of charge, aren't they?" On October 6, Mr. Sun, a citizen, went to the Forbidden City to play. When he used the public toilets outside the Meridian Gate, he was asked to pay 1 yuan. Mr. Sun questioned this. There are many tourists who have the same question, but they can't do without going to the toilet, so they have to pay.
As the saying goes, "people have three anxieties". Once they are in a hurry, they can't afford to wait. If they take advantage of people's hurry and charge a lot of toilet fees, such public toilets will be less public minded and more stinky, which will arouse public anger. This is obviously the case with the paid public toilets outside the Wumen Gate of the Forbidden City.
For the public toilets outside the Meridian Gate, the Dongcheng District Environmental Health Bureau responded that these two public toilets are actually private, responsible for their own profits and losses, and the charges are not illegal. This sentence does not violate the rules and does not dispel public doubts. Moreover, the private ownership of public toilets does not mean that public toilets are built by private investment. Article 17 of the Administrative Measures for Public Toilets in Beijing, implemented on July 1, 2008, stipulates that public toilets invested by the government are free of charge to the public. These two public toilets are located outside the Noon Gate in a special location and should be invested by the government. Therefore, because the public toilet is private, it can not be charged in a public way.
In places like Wumen Gate, there is no reason for public toilets to be private. The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and other traditional popular attractions have a large flow of people. The relevant departments should build as many public toilets as possible to meet the public demand. Today, thousands of public toilets in Beijing are free, and more than 900 public toilets in Dongcheng District are free of charge. The two public toilets outside the Meridian Gate should also be free long ago.
Public toilets are private. Have you ever asked the public? Many netizens exclaimed, "I also hope to build a toll public toilet near the Forbidden City". The implication is that these two public toilets are located in a special place. It is not anyone who can operate them. Who are the operators of these two public toilets? How much is the contract fee? Who is paid the contract fee and where is it used? Is there due process? Can relevant departments have a sun exposure?
In the final analysis, the privatization of public toilets reflects the reality of insufficient public services and privatization of public resources. As scholars have said, the construction of urban public toilets, which is closely related to people's livelihood, is an important embodiment of the government's humanistic care and the concept of governing for the people. Whether the problems existing in urban public toilets can be solved well affects the quality of local government public services. Therefore, only by building and operating public toilets well and promoting more free public toilets to serve the public can the government work be rewarded.
Public toilets shall be private, and shall not be used casually. Once casual, public convenience becomes a problem. Providing sufficient free public toilets is also an opportunity to improve public services.
Special commentator Wang Shichuan
