Over the past two and half decades, China has undergone modernization and economic development along with surging crime rates, especially delinquency rates. This study takes an in-depth look at the People’s Republic of China’s new Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Law within the context of the countries social and political background. The study discusses China’s very traditional thinking and philosophy, which presents serious challenges to enforcement of the law in Chinese society. The study found that China has 400 million juveniles that account for one third of the population, so China has tried to make the law one that protects juveniles and deals with the rising youth crime rate. However, the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Law that went into effect in 1999 was not enforced and its enforcement is still in question. The study was conducted by describing and interpreting the social and legal context in which the law was promulgated, describing content of the law, providing explanations of the philosophical basis for the law, and studying enforcement of the law in China’s society and legal setting. Limitations of the study are discussed. Notes, references