Priming Participation: The 12345 Hotline and Its Impact on Political Trust

Policy engagement through formal channels is increasingly promoted to enhance government responsiveness and legitimacy. While prior research has extensively explored factors influencing government responsiveness to public participation (e.g., Chen et al., 2016), less attention has been paid to how the experience of such participation itself shapes citizens' political orientations, particularly their trust in government. This study investigates how utilizing China’s 12345 government service hotline—a prominent example of direct citizen-government interaction—influences citizens’ trust in government, with particular attention to trust in the central government and trust in the local government.