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SUMMARYThe role of civic engagement is particularly noteworthy in quasi-democratic regimes like Hong Kong because it can potentially confer some degree of legitimacy on politics and the policy process. This article examines older and more recent means of civic engagement in the policy process in Hong Kong. The concepts of civic engagement and public participation are addressed, leading into discussions of the established mechanisms for public participation, the pressure on the government's approach to civic engagement since 2003, and the politics of civic action on heritage preservation and urban planning. Hong Kong's experience indicates that in a quasi-democratic polity the main channels for public participation in the policy process are often dominated by pro-government business and professional elites, and more participatory mechanisms are only gradually introduced after civic action by civil society groups, as reflected in the recent politics over heritage and planning.

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Economic cooperation between Hong Kong and Mainland China, especially Guangdong province, has flourished since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 1997. The landmark is the conclusion of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Hong Kong and the Mainland in 2003. CEPA covers liberalisation of trade in goods, liberalisation of trade in services, mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and other trade facilitation measures. This paper uses the collaborative governance regime framework to analyse the economic cooperation between Hong Kong and Mainland China under CEPA. This caseshows that if there are environmental conditions generating incentives for both parties to cooperate, a committed leadership on both sides to drive the regime, and institutional arrangements that could facilitate the collaborative dynamics, effective collaboration between players from different political and institutional backgrounds can still be achieved.

This paper explores how Hong Kong has influenced Chinese politics and governance in the constitutional, political, ideational, and intergovernmental dimensions since 1997. Despite the growing political and economic impact of the Mainland on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the latter has continued to influence the Mainland, especially southern China.