Purpose: Legislative hearings are a relatively new way of encouraging citizen participation in administrative law making within China. The first such hearing in Liaoning Province (Dalian City) was held in April 2005. This paper examines the detail of the hearing process and attempts to assess its effectiveness as a mechanism for engagement between citizen and the state.Methodology: The authors consider both the practicalities of running a public hearing and its influence on the legal regulations under scrutiny. More generally, and within the limits of one case study, we consider whether hearings have the potential to shift the balance of power away from the state and its officials towards a more inclusive form of decision making.Research implications: Finally, the paper examines whether citizen participation, as a means of public service-oriented government in China, has been influenced by the wider global reform process of New Public Management (NPM) and modernisation, synonymous with developed countries
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