I will provide a short introduction to the panel "Critical Assessment of Asian Population Policies from a Demographic and Gender Perspective". The objective of the presentation is threefold:

1. Provide a brief historic review of the trajectory of population policies in Asia with a focus on family planning, fertility control and the emergence of gender-biased sex selection fueled by access to modern reproductive technologies;

2. Provide a theoretical and conceptual framework that illustrates how population policies and socio-demographic phenomena like skewed sex ratio and sex selection interact (mapping of the state and society interstices);

3. Introduce the keynote speakers of the panel that come from different academic disciplines (demography, law, political science, anthropology, etc.) and cultural backgrounds (European, Asian, American); all experts in the field of gender-biased sex selection and policy assessment.