Taiwan makes progress on public toilets but still has a long way to go

We turn now to the matter of toilets. Public bathrooms are the face of a nation. In the past, Taiwan''s restrooms have left much to be desired, as they were often dirty, smelly, damp, and damaged. In recent years, new laws and new construction have brought gradual improvements, and restrooms are now more gender-neutral, more family-friendly, and more accessible to people with disabilities. Today, there are even restrooms that are beautiful in their own right. But there''s still a long way to go before Taiwan achieves clean and truly equal toilet access. What''s it going to take? We find out in our Sunday special report.
Data from the Environmental Protection Administration show there are more than 46,000 public restrooms nationwide. They are found in 12 types of venues including public enterprises, tourist sites, traditional food markets, bus and MRT stations and parks.
Anyone who finds themselves outdoors for any length of time will need to turn to a public restroom. However, not needing to clean these facilities themselves means that all too often, users will be less than courteous. Public restrooms are often left dirty and sometimes nearly unusable for the next person.
Liu Chih-ming
Cleaning company vice president
For some people, it comes down to personal habits. They may be so used to squat toilets that they will even squat on sitting toilets.
It is no wonder that many people have bad impressions of public restrooms. What can be done to overcome this negative image?
In this restroom next to the temple at Kaohsiung’s Lotus Pond, dividers embossed with the image of lotus flowers are reminiscent of summer scenes at the pond.
Fang Kuo-liang
Lotus Pond management office
Out of all the public restrooms there are, the EPA gave priority to this one for renovation. It’s probably because of the uniqueness of this location. Situated right next to the temple, it likely has the greatest amount of foot traffic.
However, being in a unique location isn’t enough to make an exceptional public restroom. What’s most important is being odor-free, clean, and dry. A public restroom must have good airflow and natural sunlight. It must have regular cleaning and maintenance.
In keeping a restroom clean, toilet and urinal design is an important factor.
Huang Shih-meng
Taiwan Toilet Association
The main problem with urinals that reach down to the floor is that the part that touches the floor is often rounded or has crevices. The rounded parts and crevices are quite hard to clean.
When the restrooms at the Hsinchu Prefectural Hall were renovated, officials sought to integrate elements of the historical site into the new facilities. A crimson red was used throughout the new facility, garnering the attention of visitors to the building.
As technology improves, toilets and urinals have become more elegant and more user-friendly. Toilets are shrinking, and urinals no longer reach the floor - instead, they hang in place, making life easier for cleaners.
Chuang Min-yun
Hsinchu City Government
The toilets are designed to hang so that you just need to push a mop underneath to clean. The design is round with no dead angles, so wiping around it you will feel like it is very easy to clean.
Cleaning is important, as is air circulation. Take a look and you will see that the walls of this temple restroom are rounded and only reach a height of 175 centimeters. The restroom was designed to allow in airflow and sunlight. There are also measures in place to guard the safety and privacy of those using the restroom.
Hsieh Cheng-hua
Kaohsiung City Government tourist facilities management
We stay in touch with the local police station, and they regularly patrol the area. In terms of facilities we are gradually installing camera systems so it can be monitored 24 hours.
Similarly, officials at the Hsinchu Prefectural Hall have also taken privacy and safety into consideration.
Hu Ching-yuan
Designer
For example, we elevated the toilets to prevent people outside from looking in - this makes people feel a bit safer. Also, since the stall doors have a crevice at the bottom - so that people can see your shoes - you might feel a bit uncomfortable. So, we designed the doors with a bent metal panel at the bottom to prevent that.
As Taiwan’s population ages, the design of public restrooms has also taken this into account. For example, at Lotus Pond handle bars have been installed in the stalls of squat toilets. It’s for the convenience of older adults who have weakened knee joints. And that’s not the only design decision made with seniors in mind.
Huang Shih-meng
Taiwan Toilet Association
We put support bars around one of the urinals, because when you use the urinal, you need to rel