This book investigates the evolving relationship between public order maintenance and the protection of human rights within the Chinese legal system. Ronald C. Keith and Zhiqiu Lin, both established scholars in Chinese law and social policy, analyze the tension between state-led efforts to control crime and the international standards of human rights. The authors utilize a framework that balances the state's mandate for social stability against the procedural requirements of a modernizing legal apparatus.

Experts in the field of Asian legal studies identify this work as a critical examination of the complexities inherent in China's criminal justice reform. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the authors' rigorous reliance on primary legal documents and government reports.