Scientific Advocacy and Dissent in China and Russia: Role of Scientists in Shaping Communication and Governance Around Human Germline Genome Editing.

When scientific scandals occur in non-Western countries, the focus of media and scientific discussions is often placed on the "rogue scientist" and the reactions of prominent Western scientists to the controversy. But the reactions and actions of the overall national scientific communities are often ignored or erased. Yet, even in countries with less developed public debate traditions, scientists have a role to play in shaping governance, ethics, and responsible research. We illustrate this point by highlighting the responses of the Chinese and Russian scientific communities to the actions of Chinese scientist He Jiankui and Russian scientist Denis Rebrikov, both of whom conducted or planned controversial human germline genome editing experiments. By placing the spotlight on the debates that occur within the larger scientific communities in these 2 countries, we aim to highlight the varied ways these communities have engaged with the public and government authorities to shape public discourse in debates and deliberations around controversies involving science and technology, and what they are able to achieve even in the confined space permitted by authoritarian regimes. Recognizing the work of local scientific communities is important not only to identify commonalities that can be leveraged to promote ethics and governance of emerging areas, such as germline genome editing, at the global level but also to promote continued mobilization against irresponsible scientific behavior in these countries.