WTO talks toilets in Beijing

The annual meeting of the World Toilet Organization (WTO) opened in Beijing with 400 delegates attending. Organizers said the three-day gathering was designed to help break the taboos surrounding toilets and help raise international sanitary standards. The Singapore-based WTO says clean toilets are a basic human right as most people will on average spend a full three years of their lifetime using them. The gathering is timely for Beijing, which is in the midst of a citywide campaign to spruce up its once legendary public conveniences before the 2008 Olympics puts the international spotlight on the city.