There is a Xi Jinping’s thought for everything. On July 23, a national conference in Hengyang, Hunan discussed the President’s theory of WCs.
by Hu Zimo
Chinese like to joke that they should study “Xi Jinping’s thought” about pretty much everything. Of course, “Xi Jinping’s thought on the history of the CCP,” “Xi Jinping’s thought on the rule of law,” and “Xi Jinping’s thought on international relations” are mandatory study subjects for most Chinese. But there is hardly a field for which Xi Jinping has not formulated a new, “revolutionary” set of principles.
One foreigners may have missed is Xi Jinping’s thought on toilets. This may sound like a joke invented by poor Chinese oppressed by the pervasiveness of study courses whose initial words are “Xi Jinping’s thought on …,” but in fact President Xi has formulated nothing less than the principles for a “toilet revolution.” And Chinese are supposed to study them as well.
On July 23, a national conference took place in Hengyang city, Hunan province, called “The National Rural Toilet Revolution Conference.” It was so important that Hu Chunhua, a member of the CCP’s Politburo and China’s Vice Premier, attended and gave the keynote speech. He urged the audience to “earnestly study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions on the toilet revolution.”
To be honest, what Vice Premier Hu resumed as Xi Jinping’s thought on toilets is much less dangerous than other aspects of his universal theorizing. Xi recommended that when choosing a toilet quality and solidity should be privileged over appearance, and that the “opinions of scientists” are considered. These are, Hu said, “important instructions.”
The idea of equipping every rural home with a state-of-the-art toilet is surely commendable. What is less clear is why we need yet another “Xi Jinping thought” for it.
