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Political Science Corruption & Misconduct

Wilful Blindness

Foreign Interference | Elite and State Capture | How a Criminal Network of Narcos, Tycoons and CCP Agents Infiltrated the West |

by (author) Sam Cooper

introduction by Michel Juneau Katsuya

foreword by Charles Burton

Publisher
Optimum Publishing International
Initial publish date
Oct 2024
Category
Corruption & Misconduct, China, Political Freedom, Drugs & the Law, Geopolitics
  • Book

    ISBN
    9780888903518
    Publish Date
    Oct 2024
    List Price
    $28.95

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Description

Wilful Blindness, Foreign Interference, and Elite and State Capture build on the compelling narrative that has cemented Samuel Cooper's reputation as a premier investigative journalist, now under the banner of The Bureau. Hybrid Warfare does not involve firing a single shot but rather winning the hearts and minds of those in power to influence the decision-making apparatus.

Cooper's findings now reveal how the Chinese Communist Party used its network and money to influence the outcome of the 2019 and 2021 elections. As the Hogue Commission unfolds, the government continues to block access to key documents that could shed light on a scandal that won't go away for the Liberal government.

This explosive update makes Wilful Blindness a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the depth of political corruption, elite capture and foreign influence shaping our world today. Cooper also shows readers how China, Iran, and Russia work with organized crime as part of their Transnational Repression Operations worldwide that have targeted diaspora communities from China here in Canada and around the world. However, Canada was the soft underbelly for the PRC to infiltrate and undermine with their eyes clearly on the prize. The USA. In 1982, three of the most influential men in Asia convened in Hong Kong to shape the future of the city’s handover to the People’s Republic of China.

This pivotal meeting saw Chinese business magnates Henry Fok and Li Ka-Shing align with Deng Xiaoping to advance the Chinese Communist Party's domestic and global ambitions. That day's decisions would ripple far beyond Hong Kong, reaching as far as Vancouver and reshaping the world. Soon, billions of dollars in Chinese investments poured into North America’s Pacific coast. British Columbia’s government casinos became conduits for global criminals, facilitating the influx of deadly narcotics into Canada and laundering billions of drug money into Vancouver’s real estate market.

This was no accident.

A web of accomplices—revenue-hungry governments, casino and real estate firms with connections to dubious offshore wealth, complicit lawyers and bankers, and an unresponsive RCMP—allowed organized crime to flourish. The consequences of this greed, corruption, and wilful blindness are staggering. Drug cartels, particularly the Big Circle Boys—transnational narco-kingpins with ties to corrupt Chinese officials and industrial tycoons—have infiltrated significant sectors of Canada’s economy. As dirty money inflated Vancouver’s real estate market, the social toll became evident: a fentanyl crisis ravaging North American cities, declining life expectancy in Canada, and an unattainable housing market for the middle class. But the story extends beyond real estate and overdoses.

Samuel Cooper’s investigation reveals that the key players in the "Vancouver Model" of money laundering have turned Canada’s West Coast into a hub for CCP-led corporate and industrial espionage. These unscrupulous entrepreneurs have exported their criminal operations globally, impacting countries like Australia and New Zealand. The 2019 arrest of Cameron Ortis, the RCMP’s top intelligence official, raises alarming questions. Could Chinese transnational criminals and state actors have secured protection from within Canada’s national security apparatus? Could China and Iran possess insights into Canada’s most sensitive secrets and investigations?

Ortis’s oversight of critical probes into transnational money laundering and espionage efforts underscores the depth of the infiltration. Wilful Blindness is a gripping narrative that follows tenacious investigators who challenged the institutionalized negligence and corruption behind the Vancouver Model. Drawing from extensive interviews with whistle-blowers, thousands of pages of government and court documents, and exclusive confidential materials, Cooper uncovers the shocking extent of Canada’s compromise.

The book concludes with a startling revelation about the extent of the infiltration and outlines crucial steps Canada must take to realign with its “Five Eyes” allies and restore national security. In the third edition of his gripping international bestseller, investigative journalist Sam Cooper unveils the explosive narrative of corruption, crime, and complicity that has infiltrated the West. Wilful Blindness dives deep into the murky world of narcos, tycoons, and Chinese Communist Party agents, revealing how they have embedded themselves into the fabric of Western society. Drawing from extensive interviews with whistle-blowers and thousands of pages of government and court documents, Cooper exposes the dark underbelly of political and financial systems.

This book is a testament to Cooper's relentless pursuit of the truth, from the shocking revelations of money laundering in Vancouver casinos to the high-stakes real estate deals masking illicit activities. The explosive NSICOP report from parliament suggests MPs from the NDP, Liberals and Conservatives have been compromised and may well be committing treason through their Wilful Blindness or direct engagement with PRC agents if only we had laws to prosecute them. Through the pages of Wilful Blindness, he reveals the probable suspects, from backbench MP's right to the PM's office. Renowned for his award-winning journalism, Cooper's work has forced a public conversation about corruption in Canada and beyond.

This edition features new chapters that delve into the continued infiltration by foreign agents and the staggering implications for democracy and national security. Praise for Wilful Blindness is widespread. Dr. Charles Burton calls it "explosive revelations that expose our government's complicity," while Terry Glavin highlights its role in sparking a crucial public dialogue. Robert Spalding, a former US Brigadier General, urges readers to understand the modern war landscape through Cooper's revelations. For anyone seeking to comprehend the complex web of global crime and its insidious impact on Western democracies,

Wilful Blindness is an essential read. This book not only informs but also empowers readers to recognize and confront the pervasive threats to our societal integrity. Updated forewords by Dr. Charles Burton with an Introduction by the former Chief of Asia Pacific, Michel Juneau-Katsuya

About the authors

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sam Cooper is an award-winning Canadian journalist, cited as one of Canada’s top investigative reporters. Cooper started with a North Vancouver newspaper in 2006, and moved up to the Vancouver Province in 2009, where he started to investigate political corruption and real estate money laundering in Vancouver. Cooper broke the B.C. casino money laundering and “E-Pirate” story in 2017 at the Vancouver Sun and has now filed more than 50 exclusive stories on the widening scandal. Since winning the Jack Webster Award for student journalist at Langara College in 2005, he has won several prizes, including a Canada National Newspaper Award and a Jack Webster Award, for his reporting with the Vancouver Province on abuse of seniors in B.C. care homes. Most recently, Cooper and his Global News reporting team won the Jack Webster 2019 Excellence in Feature/Enterprise reporting – Television for their submission: Casino Diaries

Cooper holds an HBA from the University of Toronto, a Journalism degree from Langara College, and has completed several narrative writing training programs facilitated by his employers.

 

Sam Cooper's profile page

Michel Juneau-Katsuya is the former Chief of Asia Pacific for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Today, he is an Associate Professor at Sherbrooke University.

 

Juneau-Katsuya is also the Author of Nest of Spies and Co-author of the upcoming book Canada Under Siege

Michel Juneau Katsuya's profile page

Dr, Charles Burton, Foreword

Senior Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad and Non-Resident Senior Fellow, European Values Center for Security Policy. Department of Political Science at Brock University specializing in Comparative Politics, Government and Politics of China, Canada-China Relations and Human Rights, 1989-2020. Counsellor at the Canadian Embassy to China between 1991-1993 and 1998-2000. Previously worked at the Communications Security Establishment of the Canadian Department of National Defence.

PhD 1987 from the University of Toronto after studies at Cambridge University (Oriental Studies) and Fudan University (History of Ancient Chinese Thought Program, Department of Philosophy, class of '77). Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Post-Doctoral Scholar in Political Science at University of Alberta, 1986-88.

He has published extensively on Chinese and North Korean affairs and Canada-China relations and has been commissioned to write reports on matters relating to Canada's relations with China for agencies of the Government of Canada. Charles is a frequent commentator on Chinese affairs in newspapers, radio and TV.

 

Charles Burton's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Sam Cooper is probably the most well-informed and researched journalist in Canada and beyond on the topic of Chinese organized crime and espionage activities by the CCP. His work has always been supported by solid journalistic research, and Canadians can thank him and the CSIS whistleblower who came to him for our Election Interference inquiry, which continues through 2025.

Author, National Security Specialist and Former Chief of Asia Pacific, Canadian Security and Intelligence Service

If you want to understand war in the 21st Century, read this book to get the story.

US Brigadier General (retired)

"Wilful Blindness" by Samuel Cooper is a significant contribution to the field of investigative journalism and crime reporting. It offers a sobering look at the extent to which criminal networks have infiltrated Western institutions and the challenges that lie ahead in combating this menace. The book is recommended for anyone interested in understanding the intersection of crime, politics, and international relations, and it serves as a wake-up call to the pervasive threat of transnational criminal networks.

For decades, the relationship between organized crime from Asia, Chinese Communist Party proxies, and their willing targets in the West has been evident. Our political apparatus and the lack of seriousness around national security have allowed many bad actors to infiltrate all levels of government in Canada. From Vancouver to Charlottetown, the United Front Work Department has been turning unsuspecting politicians into known assets, exposing the vulnerabilities within our political system

Former National Security Advisor

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