WEBVTT - The Sixth Bureau, Episode 1: Your Friend From Nanjing

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>Today's day is Wednesday, April twenty fifth, twenty eighteen. The

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<v Speaker 2>time is three twelve pm. The following is a consensual

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<v Speaker 2>body recording with the subject G Chow Chuen. The recording

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<v Speaker 2>starts now.

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<v Speaker 3>There's a guy sitting in a red Chevy Malibu in

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<v Speaker 3>front of an apartment complex near downtown Chicago. He's waiting

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<v Speaker 3>for someone to walk out of the apartment building. After

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<v Speaker 3>a few minutes, the person does. He's young, and he's

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<v Speaker 3>wearing a warm up jacket and glasses. He has a

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<v Speaker 3>buzz cut. His name is G Chow Chun. The guy

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<v Speaker 3>in the red car gets out, walks towards G and

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<v Speaker 3>yells to him in Vandarin.

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<v Speaker 4>You yes, hi Hi, How may I help you? He said,

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<v Speaker 4>A good time to talk.

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<v Speaker 5>I beg your pardon is something I like to.

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<v Speaker 4>Talk to you about.

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<v Speaker 6>We were all holding our breadth because this is that

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<v Speaker 6>interaction that we've prepared for.

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<v Speaker 1>The two men are being watched.

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<v Speaker 6>Geez a little confused, little flustered, and you can see

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<v Speaker 6>that in his body language.

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<v Speaker 5>He keeps this distance.

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<v Speaker 4>You are a fandom. An jine sent me to you.

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<v Speaker 1>This reference to Nanjing it's code. It's a way of saying, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>we know the same people. And G he understands it.

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<v Speaker 5>Oh, I get it now. I think.

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<v Speaker 6>At that point, Jee's demeanor relaxed and their body language

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<v Speaker 6>got closer.

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<v Speaker 5>He said to talk roughly, how long will it take?

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<v Speaker 4>McCalls puck over there in red.

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<v Speaker 5>No problem, No problem.

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<v Speaker 1>The two men walked towards the red car and get in.

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<v Speaker 4>I'm not sure if you are aware something went down

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<v Speaker 4>with the friends in on Jean?

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<v Speaker 5>I am not aware.

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<v Speaker 4>Do you know whom I am referring to?

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<v Speaker 1>She hesitates. The man pulls out his phone.

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<v Speaker 4>Let me show you this.

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<v Speaker 1>Shoey and Jean shoe Yan June.

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<v Speaker 5>I have heard of him?

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<v Speaker 4>Have you heard that something happened to him? Viciately, I

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<v Speaker 4>am not aware.

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<v Speaker 3>The stranger says his name is Chen and suggests that

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<v Speaker 3>the two of them goes somewhere more private than this car.

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<v Speaker 3>He says he has a room at the Hyatt, which

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<v Speaker 3>is nearby. At first, G tries to get out of it.

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<v Speaker 5>I really don't have time right now, I apologize.

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<v Speaker 3>But Chen pushes back, This is.

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<v Speaker 4>Important and people have to issues such as this. Talk

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<v Speaker 4>with you. They come to me. But I do not

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<v Speaker 4>want to talk too much about it, because okay, I understand.

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<v Speaker 3>G gives in.

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<v Speaker 6>They drive to the hotel, and it was immediate, let's

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<v Speaker 6>start moving, let's start getting into place. So at that

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<v Speaker 6>point I left for the hotel and got to the lobby.

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<v Speaker 1>Chen parks the car and the two men walk into

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<v Speaker 1>the hotel.

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<v Speaker 6>I am simply a spectator sitting near the hotel bar

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<v Speaker 6>and jok my afternoon. But my true goal is to

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<v Speaker 6>keep my eyes on the two individuals that are briskly

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<v Speaker 6>walking into the hotel lobby and making their way to

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<v Speaker 6>the elevator.

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<v Speaker 1>The two men take the elevator up to a room.

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<v Speaker 1>G sits down at a small table at the foot

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<v Speaker 1>of the unmade bed.

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<v Speaker 6>We'd already got into the hotel room and pleased a camera.

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<v Speaker 1>Chen takes off his coat and drapes it over a chair.

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<v Speaker 1>He's dressed like an accountant, a blue button down khakis

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<v Speaker 1>and a cell phone holster. He closes the curtains, but

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<v Speaker 1>that plunges the room into complete darkness, so he reopens them.

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<v Speaker 1>They both laugh awkwardly.

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<v Speaker 3>Chen sits down. He pulls a sheet of paper out

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<v Speaker 3>of his pocket, unfolds it, and hands it across the table.

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<v Speaker 3>It's a recent article from a Belgian newspaper. Chinese spy

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<v Speaker 3>arrested in Brussels at the request of the United States.

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<v Speaker 3>The spy is Shoe Yan June, the same person Chen

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<v Speaker 3>name dropped a G back in his car. G knows

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<v Speaker 3>Shoe Yan June well. Shoe works for China's Ministry of

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<v Speaker 3>State Security, or MSS, and so does G. Both of

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<v Speaker 3>them are spies.

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<v Speaker 6>We were aware of G Chao chun relationship with his

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<v Speaker 6>MSS handler Zu Yanjin. Our goal was to use the

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<v Speaker 6>information that his handler was arrested.

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<v Speaker 1>Chen tells G that the friends in Nanjing don't know

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<v Speaker 1>how Hue Yan Jean's cover was blown.

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<v Speaker 4>We do know if the problem was with your communications

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<v Speaker 4>with them. We don't know why is the US onto him.

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<v Speaker 4>So I was sent to let you know to stop

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<v Speaker 4>contacting them for now.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, Chen warns G you could now be in danger.

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<v Speaker 3>He hands GA cell phone. He says G should only

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<v Speaker 3>contact him from now on and only on this device.

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<v Speaker 6>Your handler was arrested. Don't talk to anybody else this time.

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<v Speaker 6>Any information that you need to relay back should go

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<v Speaker 6>through me.

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<v Speaker 3>Chen's making it clear I am now the only person

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<v Speaker 3>you can trust.

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<v Speaker 4>So they sent me here to talk to you, but

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<v Speaker 4>at this time, please stay low key. Don't send them

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<v Speaker 4>any test messages, don't send them recheck messages, don't email them,

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<v Speaker 4>because we don't know where things went wrong, So like

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<v Speaker 4>nothing had happened at normal.

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<v Speaker 5>Uh huh.

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<v Speaker 1>The two men leave the hotel room and Chan drives

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<v Speaker 1>G back to his apartment. Before G gets out of

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<v Speaker 1>the car, Chen makes sure he has the cell phone.

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<v Speaker 4>Did you crap the cell phone? Yes, it's in my pocket.

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<v Speaker 4>Thank you for your help. Give me a bit of time.

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<v Speaker 4>Don't tell anyone about.

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<v Speaker 5>This, okay.

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<v Speaker 1>The whole interaction lasts about two hours. Chan drives off

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<v Speaker 1>parks and speaks into a hidden microphone.

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<v Speaker 2>Today day is April twenty fifth, twenty eighteen. The time

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<v Speaker 2>is five three pm, ending the consentual monitoring.

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<v Speaker 3>What G didn't know that afternoon was that this stranger

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<v Speaker 3>off the street who knew his name and his biggest secret,

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<v Speaker 3>was actually an undercover FBI agent, and the person watching

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<v Speaker 3>them was an agent two.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of what the undercover agent had said to

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<v Speaker 1>G was a lie, but one key detail was true.

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<v Speaker 1>Hue Yen June, G's MSS handler had been.

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<v Speaker 7>Arrested, who announced federal criminal charges for conspiracy to commit

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<v Speaker 7>economic espionage and theft of trade secrets che in.

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<v Speaker 4>Federal court in Cincinnati.

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<v Speaker 1>Chue wasn't just G's handler. He was running MSS operations

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<v Speaker 1>all over the world, and he was at the center

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<v Speaker 1>of one of the most significant spy rings the FBI

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<v Speaker 1>has ever taken down.

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<v Speaker 3>The MSS is believed to be the world's largest intelligence agency,

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<v Speaker 3>but the people who work there are basically ghosts. We

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<v Speaker 3>rarely learn their names, and even when we do, it's

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<v Speaker 3>usually an alias. Chu Yen June was the first intelligence

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<v Speaker 3>officer ever to be lured out of China, arrested and

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<v Speaker 3>tried in the US.

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<v Speaker 8>We had never been able to convict in the United

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<v Speaker 8>States and put in prison a staff MSS officer, so

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<v Speaker 8>it was very clear to me that we were making history.

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<v Speaker 3>What this case cracked open for the first time was

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<v Speaker 3>a view from inside the MSS, revealing thousands of pages

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<v Speaker 3>of emails, chats, audio recordings, classified Chinese government documents, even

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<v Speaker 3>Chu's personal diary.

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<v Speaker 1>It was just strange the way he kept records of everything,

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<v Speaker 1>not only what happened, but his own feelings about them.

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<v Speaker 7>I now have several terabytes of an MSS officer, no doubt,

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<v Speaker 7>no question of his life. And that's the unicorn.

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<v Speaker 1>At the heart of Hugh's mission was an advanced technology

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<v Speaker 1>that China has been after for years, one that has

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<v Speaker 1>proven uniquely difficult to copy, much lesser pass ready to

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<v Speaker 1>take offs about to takeo the jet engine.

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<v Speaker 9>The jet engine one of the marvels of this century

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<v Speaker 9>of marbles.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a marvel when it was invented over eighty

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<v Speaker 1>years ago, and it still is today. Only a few

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<v Speaker 1>countries in the world know how to make them really well.

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<v Speaker 10>China has said this is a national priority that we

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<v Speaker 10>get this information. The MSS was tesked to do it.

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<v Speaker 10>It fell down to Huey Nun at that time.

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<v Speaker 4>He's right out of Central Casting ju.

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<v Speaker 8>Is basically out there trying to steal corporate secrets. Is

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<v Speaker 8>doing that with the full support and cooperation of his government.

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<v Speaker 10>He did it multiple times over multiple years, right through

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<v Speaker 10>extensive network around the world.

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<v Speaker 4>These are things that could be catastrophic.

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<v Speaker 11>The idea that we could get shoe it opens up

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<v Speaker 11>so many doors to understanding what the Chinese government is

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<v Speaker 11>up to and what information they have about us, how

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<v Speaker 11>they work.

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<v Speaker 4>It's like a once in a lifetime of opportunity.

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<v Speaker 8>Because the American people truly understood the scope of Chinese

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<v Speaker 8>espionage inside the United States right now, they'd be shocked,

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<v Speaker 8>they'd be outraged.

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<v Speaker 12>It's the people of the United States who are the

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<v Speaker 12>victims of what amounts to Chinese theft on a scale

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<v Speaker 12>so massive that it represents one of the largest transfers of.

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<v Speaker 1>Wealth in human history.

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<v Speaker 10>Stealing American technology, giving it to Chinese companies who can

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<v Speaker 10>then undercut American companies and Americans go out of business.

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<v Speaker 10>That is their stated goal. They want to replace the

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<v Speaker 10>United States as the world's only superpower, and they're on

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<v Speaker 10>track to do what their claiming they're going to do.

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<v Speaker 3>There's a lot of change and straight up chaos happening

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<v Speaker 3>right now, some of it manned up being noise, but

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<v Speaker 3>we are witnessing the formation of a new world order,

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<v Speaker 3>and one thing's clear. China is the new economic and

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<v Speaker 3>military superpower alongside the US. The two countries have been

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<v Speaker 3>going head to head for the last few decades. Not

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<v Speaker 3>that long ago, the US was still ahead of China

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<v Speaker 3>in almost every advanced technology. That time has passed, China's

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<v Speaker 3>caught up in so many ways, thanks to a ton

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<v Speaker 3>of investment, talent, innovation, and one more thing spying. From

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<v Speaker 3>Bloomberg News and iHeart Podcasts. This is the Sixth Bureau.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm Jordan Robertson and.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Drake Bennett. This is a story of the inner

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<v Speaker 1>workings of one of the world's most mysterious and powerful

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<v Speaker 1>spy agencies, in how one man's ambition and mistakes opened

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<v Speaker 1>its vault of secrets.

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<v Speaker 9>On the next episode, we are in the business of

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<v Speaker 9>exploiting your weakness, your needs, your vulnerabilities, and we're good

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<v Speaker 9>at it.

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<v Speaker 1>That recording was almost dumb luck. I cannot believe they

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<v Speaker 1>didn't turn that recording off.

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<v Speaker 7>The helicopter that the Marine Corps is going to fly,

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<v Speaker 7>the next level helicopter. There's no reason that the Chinese

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<v Speaker 7>governm needs to know the specifications of that. There's no

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<v Speaker 7>reason an employee of any American company should be prepared

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<v Speaker 7>to pass that sort of information over