28 Aug 2012

Govt offering toilet hygiene advice in Taiwan

1:25 pm on 28 August 2012

A government official in Taiwan has stirred a debate on hygiene by suggesting that men should sit while urinating instead of standing.

Environmental Protection Administration minister Stephen Shen says sitting on the toilet like women creates a cleaner environment.

Councils will be asked this week to install notices in public places advising men to sit.

A BBC correspondent in Taipei says that while many women on social media websites favour the suggestion, a lot of men say it would be hard to stop doing what they are used to.

But EPA officials say the practive is common in Japan and Sweden.