Epistemic Editors: Renaming and (De)politicization of Gene Engineering as Public Science in China

• In Event: Science, Knowledge & Technology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 9: Technology Mastery: The Professional Social Production of Medical Knowledge

Abstract

The politicization of public science increasingly challenges scientific legitimacy, yet the mechanisms of state-led "epistemic governance" remain under-theorized. This study examines the strategic renaming of genetic engineering in China, where the Ministry of Agriculture reclassified specific technologies from the stigmatized "transgenic" (zhuanjiyin) to "gene-edited" (jiyinbianji) in 2023. We analyze this semantic intervention as a form of state-led boundary work designed to stabilize public consensus. Drawing on a longitudinal dataset of 6.4 million Sina Weibo posts (2019–2025) and a parallel corpus of policy directives, we employ computational methods to quantify shifts in discursive structure. Specifically, we investigate whether this nomenclature shift diminished structural polarization and enhanced the semantic alignment between public discourse and state narratives. We conceptualize the state as an "epistemic editor," leveraging the malleability of scientific taxonomy to depoliticize controversial technologies. By juxtaposing the fragmentation and unification of discourse, this research revisits the Mertonian institutional model through an STS lens, revealing how political regimes flexibly couple scientific knowledge with governance strategies to navigate the crisis of expertise.

Authors

• LUQING ZHOU, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Xin Zhao, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill