Charles Burton

Sam Cooper started exposing the CCP's malfeasances abroad long before "China reporting" was popular. Thanks to his and a few others' selfless perseverance, Canadians and others worldwide have opened their eyes to the reality of the multiple threats posed by authoritarian China to the freedoms and values we hold dear. Doing so is not without a cost, as Chinese dissidents and diaspora communities around the world know all too well. Sam has and continues to bear that cost, head held high. We owe him and those who worked with him an immense debt of gratitude and a duty to act. Laura Harth, Quote, Campaign Director, Safeguard Defenders, Rome 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

This newly updated book provides readers with over 18,000 words of new information regarding the infiltration of China, Russia and Iranian agents to undermine the very democracy we hold dear. Politicians and business elite including former Ambassador to Canada, Dominic Barton facilitated and helped the criminal enterprises get a secure hold in the West. Cooper has exposed the close ties between Chinese nationals who are dedicated to Beijing and have bought influence with all political parties in Canada. It's about time that former PM's cut their lucrative arrangements with the PRC and Cooper makes a compelling case as to how money through these networks has undermined our political process and policy engagement with the Peoples's Republic of China.

The Number 1 best seller is updated This newly updated book features 2 new Chapters of content and insights infiltration of China, Russia and Iranian agents to undermine the very democracy we hold dear. Politicians and business elites including former Ambassadors to Canada, who may unwittingly have helped the criminal enterprises get a secure hold in the West. Soon after Wilful Blindness was published, I learned the book was having an impact in Beijing. I was contacted by Canadian intelligence and informed that Chinese espionage assets in Canada had been tasked with collecting information on me. Beijing wanted to know how the public was reacting to my book, and whether it could damage the Chinese Communist Party. It was shocking to hear this, but I wasn’t surprised that the United Front Work Department’s thin-skinned apparatchiks felt threatened by my granular reporting on their operations in Vancouver. I had named names and cited documents. I had even developed sources within local Chinese espionage networks. And I had drawn links between senior CCP official Bin Zhang, Markham underground casino suspect Wei Wei, and a Chinese front company that donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s family foundation. It can’t be overstated how significant this reporting was. I showed how this espionage operation extended to elite criminal suspects and their United Front comrades in Vancouver, including the flag-waving leaders of rallies against Hong Kong Canadians. This in turn was all connected to Triad suspects with deep ties to illegal casinos, violent loan-sharking networks,Chinese police forces and military, and the Vancouver Model of money laundering and economic infiltration. And I continued to dig. After my book came out, I learned that the key fundraiser and Chinese community organizer for Justin Trudeau in Toronto was flagged in Fintrac suspicious transaction reports. The documents said this Markham man had, in just a few months, routed millions of dollars of wire transfers from Hong Kong for Chinese corruption suspects accused of big-time real estate money laundering in Canada. He was also tight with a top-tier CSIS..... Cooper has exposed the close ties between Chinese nationals who are dedicated to Beijing and have bought influence with all political parties in Canada. It's about time that former PM's cut their lucrative arrangements with the PRC and Cooper makes a compelling case as to how money through these networks has undermined our political process and policy engagement with the Peoples's Republic of China. Sam’s vigorous journalism on tracking and exposing money laundering has been crucial in the national push to reform and update Canada’s laws. This book pulls his work, and indeed the work of many professionals, into one explosive narrative. Canadian lore often pitches our country as a well-meaning good partner in the world. But as Sam’s report has shown, we are a node in global systems of corruption and crime, with the infiltration and implications only becoming worse over time. James Cohen, President of Transparency International Canada "A Gripping read that you won't want to put down" Benedict Rogers, Hong Kong Watch "This is a must-read book for concerned citizens who want to keep their democratic societies free" Solomon Yue, Vice-Chair and CEO, Republicans Overseas In 1982 three of the most powerful men in Asia met in Hong Kong. They would decide how Hong Kong would be handed over to the People's Republic of China and how Chinese business tycoons Henry Fok and Li Ka-Shing would help Deng Xiaoping realize the Chinese Communist Party's domestic and global ambitions. That meeting would not only change Vancouver but the world. Billions of dollars in Chinese investment would soon reach the shores of North America's Pacific coast. B. C. government casinos became a tool for global criminals to import deadly narcotics into Canada and launder billions of drug cash into Vancouver real estate. And it didn't happen by accident. A cast of accomplices - governments hungry for revenue, casino and real estate companies with ties to shady offshore wealth, professional facilitators including lawyers and bankers, an aimless RCMP that gave organized crime room to grow - all combined to cause this tragedy. There was greed, folly, corruption, conspiracy, and wilful blindness. Decades of bad policy allowed drug cartels, first and foremost the Big Circle Boys - powerful transnational narco-kingpins with ties to corrupt Chinese officials, real estate tycoons, and industrialists - to gain influence over significant portions of Canada's economy. Many looked the other way while B. C.'s primary industry, real estate, ballooned with dirty cash. But the unintended social consequences are now clear: a fentanyl overdose crisis raging in major cities throughout North America and life spans falling for the first time in modern Canada, and a runaway housing market that has devastated middle-class income earners. This story isn't just about real estate and fentanyl overdoses, though. Sam Cooper has uncovered evidence that shows the primary actors in so-called "Vancouver Model" money laundering have effectively made Canada's west coast a headquarters for corporate and industrial espionage by the CCP. And these ruthless entrepreneurs have used Vancouver and Canada to export their criminal model to other countries around the world including Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Cooper finds that the RCMP's 2019 arrest of its top intelligence official, Cameron Ortis, raises many frightening questions. Could Chinese transnational criminals and state actors targeting Canada's industrial and technological crown jewels have gained protection from the Mounties? Could China and Iran have insight into Canada's deepest national security secrets and influence on investigations? According to the evidence Cooper has found, Ortis had oversight of many investigations into transnational money laundering networks and insight into sensitive probes of suspects seeking to undermine Canada's democracy and infiltrate the United States. Wilful Blindness is a powerful narrative that follows the investigators who refused to go along with institutionalized negligence and corruption that enabled the Vancouver Model, with Cooper drawing on extensive interviews with the whistle-blowers; thousands of pages of government and court documents obtained through legal applications; and large caches of confidential material available exclusively to Cooper. The book culminates with a shocking revelation showing how deeply Canada has been compromised and what needs to happen to get the nation back on track with its "Five Eyes" allies. "I'm astonished that some Hollywood production company hasn't already signed him for a big-screen treatment of this story. It's a huge story." - Terry Glavin, National Post

In 1982 three of the most powerful men in Asia met in Hong Kong. They would decide how Hong Kong would be handed over to the People's Republic of China and how Chinese business tycoons Henry Fok and Li Ka-Shing would help Deng Xiaoping realize the Chinese Communist Party's domestic and global ambitions. That meeting would not only change Vancouver but the world. Billions of dollars in Chinese investment would soon reach the shores of North America's Pacific coast. B. C. government casinos became a tool for global criminals to import deadly narcotics into Canada and launder billions of drug cash into Vancouver real estate. And it didn't happen by accident. A cast of accomplices - governments hungry for revenue, casino, and real estate companies with ties to shady offshore wealth, professional facilitators including lawyers and bankers, an aimless RCMP that gave organized crime room to grow - all combined to cause this tragedy. There was greed, folly, corruption, conspiracy, and wilful blindness. Decades of bad policy allowed drug cartels, first and foremost the Big Circle Boys - powerful transnational narco-kingpins with ties to corrupt Chinese officials, real estate tycoons, and industrialists - to gain influence over significant portions of Canada's economy. Many looked the other way while B. C.'s primary industry, real estate, ballooned with dirty cash. But the unintended social consequences are now clear: a fentanyl overdose crisis raging in major cities throughout North America and life spans falling for the first time in modern Canada, and a runaway housing market that has devastated middle-class income earners. This story isn't just about real estate and fentanyl overdoses, though. Sam Cooper has uncovered evidence that shows the primary actors in so-called "Vancouver Model" money laundering have effectively made Canada's west coast a headquarters for corporate and industrial espionage by the CCP. And these ruthless entrepreneurs have used Vancouver and Canada to export their criminal model to other countries around the world including Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Cooper finds that the RCMP's 2019 arrest of its top intelligence official, Cameron Ortis, raises many frightening questions. Could Chinese transnational criminals and state actors targeting Canada's industrial and technological crown jewels have gained protection from the Mounties? Could China and Iran have insight into Canada's deepest national security secrets and influence on investigations? Ortis had oversight of many investigations into transnational money laundering networks and insight into sensitive probes of suspects seeking to undermine Canada's democracy and infiltrate the United States, according to the evidence Cooper has found. Wilful Blindness is a powerful narrative that follows the investigators who refused to go along with institutionalized negligence and corruption that enabled the Vancouver Model, with Cooper drawing on extensive interviews with the whistle-blowers; thousands of pages of government and court documents obtained through legal applications; and large caches of confidential material available exclusively to Cooper. The book culminates with a shocking revelation showing how deeply Canada has been compromised, and what needs to happen, to get the nation back on track with its "Five Eyes" allies.

The Number 1 best seller, 2nd Edition This newly updated book features 2 new Chapters of content and insights about the infiltration of China, Russia and Iranian agents who have infiltrated our democracies throughout the free world. Politicians and business elites including former Ambassadors to Canada, may have unwittingly helped criminal enterprises and Chinese agents secure a hold in the West. From the UFW to the Minisitry of State Security(MSS) and Organized Crime bosses, Cooper takes readers on a wild ride in the shadows of the underworld and yet the agents of the CCP are hiding in plain site. Soon after Wilful Blindness was published, I learned the book was having an impact in Beijing. I was contacted by Canadian intelligence and informed that Chinese espionage assets in Canada had been tasked with collecting information on me. Beijing wanted to know how the public was reacting to my book, and whether it could damage the Chinese Communist Party. It was shocking to hear this, but I wasn’t surprised that the United Front Work Department’s thin-skinned apparatchiks felt threatened by my granular reporting on their operations in Vancouver. I had named names and cited documents. I had even developed sources within local Chinese espionage networks. And I had drawn links between senior CCP official Bin Zhang, Markham underground casino suspect Wei Wei, and a Chinese front company that donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s family foundation. It can’t be overstated how significant this reporting was. I showed how this espionage operation extended to elite criminal suspects and their United Front comrades in Vancouver, including the flag-waving leaders of rallies against Hong Kong Canadians. This in turn was all connected to Triad suspects with deep ties to illegal casinos, violent loan-sharking networks,Chinese police forces and military, and the Vancouver Model of money laundering and economic infiltration. And I continued to dig. After my book came out, I learned that the key fundraiser and Chinese community organizer for Justin Trudeau in Toronto was flagged in Fintrac suspicious transaction reports. The documents said this Markham man had, in just a few months, routed millions of dollars of wire transfers from Hong Kong for Chinese corruption suspects accused of big-time real estate money laundering in Canada. He was also tight with a top-tier CSIS..... Cooper has exposed the close ties between Chinese nationals who are dedicated to Beijing and have bought influence with all political parties in Canada. It's about time that former PM's cut their lucrative arrangements with the PRC and Cooper makes a compelling case as to how money through these networks has undermined our political process and policy engagement with the Peoples's Republic of China. Sam’s vigorous journalism on tracking and exposing money laundering has been crucial in the national push to reform and update Canada’s laws. This book pulls his work, and indeed the work of many professionals, into one explosive narrative. Canadian lore often pitches our country as a well-meaning good partner in the world. But as Sam’s report has shown, we are a node in global systems of corruption and crime, with the infiltration and implications only becoming worse over time. James Cohen, President of Transparency International Canada "A Gripping read that you won't want to put down" Benedict Rogers, Hong Kong Watch "This is a must-read book for concerned citizens who want to keep their democratic societies free" Solomon Yue, Vice-Chair and CEO, Republicans Overseas In 1982 three of the most powerful men in Asia met in Hong Kong. They would decide how Hong Kong would be handed over to the People's Republic of China and how Chinese business tycoons Henry Fok and Li Ka-Shing would help Deng Xiaoping realize the Chinese Communist Party's domestic and global ambitions. That meeting would not only change Vancouver but the world. Billions of dollars in Chinese investment would soon reach the shores of North America's Pacific coast. B. C. government casinos became a tool for global criminals to import deadly narcotics into Canada and launder billions of drug cash into Vancouver real estate. And it didn't happen by accident. A cast of accomplices - governments hungry for revenue, casino and real estate companies with ties to shady offshore wealth, professional facilitators including lawyers and bankers, an aimless RCMP that gave organized crime room to grow - all combined to cause this tragedy. There was greed, folly, corruption, conspiracy, and wilful blindness. Decades of bad policy allowed drug cartels, first and foremost the Big Circle Boys - powerful transnational narco-kingpins with ties to corrupt Chinese officials, real estate tycoons, and industrialists - to gain influence over significant portions of Canada's economy. Many looked the other way while B. C.'s primary industry, real estate, ballooned with dirty cash. But the unintended social consequences are now clear: a fentanyl overdose crisis raging in major cities throughout North America and life spans falling for the first time in modern Canada, and a runaway housing market that has devastated middle-class income earners. This story isn't just about real estate and fentanyl overdoses, though. Sam Cooper has uncovered evidence that shows the primary actors in so-called "Vancouver Model" money laundering have effectively made Canada's west coast a headquarters for corporate and industrial espionage by the CCP. And these ruthless entrepreneurs have used Vancouver and Canada to export their criminal model to other countries around the world including Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Cooper finds that the RCMP's 2019 arrest of its top intelligence official, Cameron Ortis, raises many frightening questions. Could Chinese transnational criminals and state actors targeting Canada's industrial and technological crown jewels have gained protection from the Mounties? Could China and Iran have insight into Canada's deepest national security secrets and influence on investigations? According to the evidence Cooper has found, Ortis had oversight of many investigations into transnational money laundering networks and insight into sensitive probes of suspects seeking to undermine Canada's democracy and infiltrate the United States. Wilful Blindness is a powerful narrative that follows the investigators who refused to go along with institutionalized negligence and corruption that enabled the Vancouver Model, with Cooper drawing on extensive interviews with the whistle-blowers; thousands of pages of government and court documents obtained through legal applications; and large caches of confidential material available exclusively to Cooper. The book culminates with a shocking revelation showing how deeply Canada has been compromised and what needs to happen to get the nation back on track with its "Five Eyes" allies. "I'm astonished that some Hollywood production company hasn't already signed him for a big-screen treatment of this story. It's a huge story." - Terry Glavin, National Post

The evolution of economic organization, political authority, and social values in post-Mao China is the focus of this distinguished investigation which challenges standard interpretations of contemporary China. Mao's death in 1976 made possible a shift from movement politics that produced a gradual dissolution of pre-existing factions and allowed a redefined political agenda to emerge. This post-Mao agenda, in which the notion of class struggle as the key link was explicitly repudiated, formed the foundation for China's post-1978 modernization program. Burton describes this program as post-socialist, arguing that socialism as a definitive category has become irrelevant. He contends that demands for the reform of China's system of economic organization were the direct result of the failure of the Party's post-revolutionary political agenda and that subsequent economic improvements led to calls for modernization of the nation's structure of political authority. The author also describes the dramatic transformation of prevalent social values that has occurred during the same period. The original research and extensive use of vernacular sources, as well as Burton's multi-disciplinary and integrative approach make this volume required reading for students and scholars of contemporary politics, the sociology of China, and contemporary Chinese thought. Political and Social Change in China Since 1978 will fill the background information gap for generalists intrigued by recent events in China.