Rethinking the East Asian Distinction: An Example of Taiwan’s Harm Reduction Policy Jia-shin Chen Received: 30 June 2011 / Accepted: 25 July 2011 q National Science Council, Taiwan 2012 Abstract How do we make sense of East Asian STS studies? This article traces the debates on this theme in earlier issues of East Asian Science, Technology and Society and analyzes the different perspectives displayed. The author addresses the so-called East Asian distinction by proposing a theoretical approach based on Gilles Deleuze and Fe ´lix Guattari’s notion of assemblages, which differs significantly from Latourian actor network theory. The concept’s analytic advantages are illustrated by a case study of Taiwan’s campaign to stem HIV transmission among injection drug users. It is hoped that the assemblage approach may enrich the scholarly repertoire of theory and encourage more studies that address the intricate relations among science, politics, culture, and policies. Keywords actor network theoryÁassemblagesÁEast Asian distinctionÁharm reduc- tionÁHIV For the fledgling East Asian science, technology, and society (STS) community, the appearance of a journal devoted to the region was a significant event that both enhanced communication and exposed controversies. The present article is a prelimi- nary attempt to address a fundamental yet unsettled issue: how do we make sense of East Asian STS studies? In the first issue of East Asian Science, Technology and Society, Daiwie Fu (2007) announced his hopes for a lively forum that would benefit from the advantages “of theoretical and historical unity resulting from shared colonial heritages and similar postcolonial developments” (4). Concerning the distinction of East Asian STS studies, Fu raised a vital theoretical point: “What’s the difference between EASTS studies and A preliminary draft of this paper was presented in the 2010 annual meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S). Professors Daiwie Fu and Ruey-Lin Chen offered insightful ideas that markedly improved the paper. I also thank the two anonymous reviewers for their precious comments. J. Chen (*) Graduate Institute of Science, Technology and Society, National Yang Ming University, No. 155, Sec. 2, Linong St., Beitou Dist., Taipei City 112, Taiwan e-mail: jschen1973@ym.edu.tw East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal (2012) 6:453–464 DOI 10.1215/18752160-1904899