In measuring Hong Kong's contribution to the mainland's modernization program, many people have focused on its economic contribution. In the past 60 years, Hong Kong's contribution has been huge, and there is no dispute about that.

For a long time, Hong Kong was practically the country's only outlet to the outside world, monopolizing trade and inward investment. Even today, 30 years after the launch of reform and the opening up policy, about half of the country's trade and investment is still related to the territory. Everywhere you go, even in the most remote inland provinces, Hong Kong joint venture projects are thriving.

Let us take a closer look at why China welcomes overseas direct investment. It is a package consisting of capital, technology and modern management. Money does not do all the talking, and when it comes to management, it obviously falls outside the traditional concept of economic matters. Management is a complex system more on the culture side. In the past, though not so conspicuously, Hong Kong contributed tremendously to the cultural area, and it will continue to do so in the years to come.

I can still remember back in the 1980s when Hong Kong reporters covering the Sino-British negotiation on the future of the territory after 1997 were frustrated because press conferences were unheard of in the mainland. Taking the advice of Hong Kong journalists, the country began its system of press conferences and official spokespersons. In the same vein, early joint ventures, which were all from Hong Kong, led to feasibility studies, which are now a pre-requisite for any joint venture agreement.

Many terms that are in daily use on the mainland - off-hand, "taxi" and "bus" pop into mind - originated in Hong Kong. More recent examples are "anti-corruption storm" and "accountability". Along with these new terms, the country has imported many new concepts and new practices that are part and partial of modernity and modernization.

To give a more concrete example, when you walk along the pavements in Shanghai, you will find many are covered with different patterns of colored bricks, a practice borrowed from Hong Kong in the last decade. This is more beautiful, and is more convenient for regular repair and maintenance of underground ducting and cables. It is very practical indeed, especially in the rainy seasons when water has to be quickly absorbed and drained.

When you walk down the subway stations in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing, you will find many features there quite similar to those of Hong Kong. This is of no surprise, since the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation (HKMTRC) consulted on these subway projects. At the moment, HKMTRC is building subway extensions in Shenzhen and Beijing. You will see more of Hong Kong in these operations.

Another spectacular success is the Octopus Card. This started off as a prepaid card for Hong Kong's subway and busses. Now it is the electronic payment medium accepted everywhere for small payments, say below HK$500, except taxis. You buy a newspaper from the convenient store together with your breakfast, beep, Octopus Card. You check out from the supermarket, beep. You buy a coffee from Starbucks, or a hamburger from Macdonald's, beep. Now you go back to your apartment, beep, the door opens for you because it recognizes your card number. Even the kids, they beep the card at the school gate, and the roll call is automatically taken, together with the exact time of entry. Needless to say, there will be no more time punching in the office.

The Octopus Card is a relatively low-tech device, and the hardware, the IT infrastructure, the manufacturing capability, and the software codes are all there. Everybody is talking about electronic money, but no other city in the world is as successful in its application as Hong Kong. The secret to its success lies in marketing and management. Learning from the Hong Kong experience, similar IC cards are beginning to proliferate in major cities in the mainland. Soon you will be able to buy this newspaper with an IC card and then start your car with it in the mainland.

Along with Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, there are more and more mainland visitors coming to Hong Kong. Almost to a voice, they are all amazed at the efficient traffic management in Hong Kong. Public transportation is so convenient and there are practically no traffic jams. Not only do cars stop in front of red light, incredibly most of the pedestrians do too, even when there are no cars and no policemen in sight.

People automatically line up for everything, and the streets are clean. When they have more interactions with the local people, they will experience first hand what efficiency, professionalism and a service attitude mean. With more exchange and interaction at all levels, I am sure in the not too distant future, all major Chinese cities will be like this. After all, Hong Kong is also a Chinese city run by Chinese people, and there is no reason why other cities are unable to do so.

Tales like this can go on and on. In a nutshell, other than money, Hong Kong still has a lot to offer to the country's quest for modernization, especially in the areas of modern city management. A few decades from now, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Zhuhai Highway, which was China's first super-speed highway, and a joint venture with a Hong Kong company, will be lost in the maze of highways crisscrossing the Pearl River Delta, but more people will ride on buses, pay with an IC card, and talk about accountability.

Looking from this angle, we can all appreciate why our leaders pay so much attention to Hong Kong. After all, it is "the Pearl of the Orient".

The author, from Hong Kong, is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

(China Daily 08/08/2007 page10)