ABSTRACT: The Asia−Pacific region is an emergent and important arena in the development of technology and science. However, until recently there has been little critical analysis of the emerging technoscientific governance that is embedded in the region’s socio-political, cultural and economic contexts. This Theme Section addresses concepts such as ’scientific citizenship’, ‘expert−lay interaction’, ‘participatory risk governance’ and ‘public engagement’ in order to stimulate discussions on the social and ethical issues which need to be tackled when introducing new technologies in this region.