State-controlled media weekend news roundup: Jiangmen’s controversial dog ban has been lifted only nine days after going into effect, rumors of a wave of bankruptcies among small and medium-sized businesses in the PRD are groundless, and six senior executives of a subsidiary of China’s largest gold mining company were given sentences of up to six years in prison for their liability in a dam collapse which killed 22 people in Maoming last year.

Guangzhou mayor holds meet-and-greet with society’s downtrodden

Guangzhou mayor Wan Qingliang was among city officials ‘sent down to the proles’ last week by Party secretary Zhang Guangning.

New Express was on hand to get a few photos of Wan shaking hands with petitioners down at City Hall behind People’s Park—it appears they ended up having to come to him—but ended up not writing a single word about what grievances they seek resolution in, probably because Wan told them straight up that he and everyone else just ignores all the protesters gathered outside the gates every day.

Foshan opens door to independent NGOs

NGOs in Foshan’s Nanhai district no longer need to find a sponsor danwei, said the district’s government in a decision last week to experiment in granting civil groups more space in which to operate, and can now register directly with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The plan involves shortening the time and lowering the costs involved in registering an NGO, and Nanhai has even set itself the target of reaching no less than five NGOs per 10,000 district residents by 2015.

PRD economy running out of juice?

Guangzhou Daily today reports that as of the end of July, out of 191 firms manufacturing lead-acid (car) batteries in the province, 27 have shut down, relocated or been converted to produce other goods, 134 have suspended production, 3 are in the process of being built, and 27 continue to operate normally. Thirty remaining factories out of 191, that puts the car battery manufacturing industry down 84%.

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