Updates: New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday at an event that China’s Consul General in New York, Ping Huang, has been expelled following charges against former aide Linda Sun, who served under both Hochul and former Governor Andrew Cuomo. Sun was charged with acting as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government. Later on Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller clarified in a regular briefing that Huang was not expelled but left as scheduled after completing his posting.
Hochul said that she had spoken with a high-ranking State Department official at the request of Secretary of State Antony Blinken. She condemned Sun’s actions as an “absolute betrayal of the trust of two administrations in state government,” adding that Sun had even gone so far as to “even forging my signature on documents.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn on Tuesday revealed it has charged a former high-level official in the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul with unlawfully acting as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government, money laundering, and other offenses.
Linda Sun, who worked for years for the administration of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo before serving as deputy chief of staff in Hochul’s executive chamber starting in September 2021, allegedly sought to influence both administrations toward positions that were favorable to the Chinese government and sought by its representatives.
This included “blocking” Taiwanese government officials from accessing the governor’s office, massaging statements by Cuomo and Hochul to be more favorable to China, and arranging meetings between Chinese government officials and Hochul while she served as lieutenant governor, according to a 64-page indictment unsealed Tuesday that doesn’t refer to either governor by name.
Sun’s husband, Chris Hu, who operates a seafood exporting firm and liquor store in Queens and other businesses in China, was also charged in the indictment for alleged money laundering conspiracy and bank fraud.
The indictment unsealed by U.S. Attorney Breon Peace of the Eastern District of New York says his China-based business was boosted by Chinese government representatives in return for Sun’s advocacy — reaping the couple millions of dollars that they put toward a $3.6 million mansion in Long Island, a $1.9 million condo in Hawaii, and vehicles that included a Ferrari, Range Rover and Mercedes.
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The couple was also showered with other gifts from reps of the Chinese government, the indictment alleges, including tickets to events and “Nanjing-style salted ducks” prepared by a personal chef.
“As alleged, while appearing to serve the people of New York as Deputy Chief of Staff within the New York State Executive Chamber, the defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government and the CCP,” said U.S. Attorney for New York’s Eastern District, Breon Peace. “The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars.”
Emails to two attorneys for Sun and two separate attorneys for Hu weren’t immediately answered.
The couple pleaded not guilty, were released on bond and had their travel restricted to New York, New Hampshire and Maine, according to a spokesperson for Peace.
The basis for the main charge against Sun involves the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires anyone doing political or publicity work on behalf of a foreign entity to register with the U.S. Attorney General. The indictment says Sun not only failed to register, but that she actively concealed her work on behalf of the Chinese government reps.
“It was a crime to knowingly and willfully fail to register when required under FARA,” the indictment reads.
Sun went to work for the state Department of Labor in September 2022 and was terminated for unspecified “misconduct” in March 2023, according to state officials.
“This individual was hired by the Executive Chamber more than a decade ago,” said Hochul spokesperson Avi Small. “We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, immediately reported her actions to law enforcement and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process.”
The indictment says that Sun submitted to a voluntary interview with the state’s Office of the Inspector General just weeks before her termination, where she was asked about attending certain Asian community events and securing a proclamation from the governor’s office for “PRC Official-1” — a reference to the Chinese Consul General in New York, Huang Ping.
The indictment alleges that Sun obtained the proclamation by violating state protocols, and that she initially falsely claimed to the inspector general that she hadn’t requested the proclamation.
A spokesperson for the IG’s office declined comment, and an email sent to the Consulate General of China in New York was not answered.
An elbow to Taiwan
One of the main issues that Sun allegedly steered the governor’s office on was the Chinese government’s disputed claim of sovereignty over Taiwan.
While neither Cuomo nor Hochul had official policies on the matter, Sun repeatedly turned down requests from Taiwanese government representatives for meetings with or invites to top administration officials, the indictment alleges.
In September 2019, a political affairs official wrote Sun to invite Cuomo to Taiwan’s National Day celebration the following month at a hotel in Manhattan. When people in the governor’s office asked for Sun’s advice, she recommended not attending.
“No message and no rep,” she wrote to the office’s Director of Asian Affairs on September 12, the indictment says.
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Earlier in the year, Sun had bragged to an unnamed official at the Consulate General of China in New York about her efforts to block out the Taiwanese government.
“Certainly I have managed to stop all relationships between the [Taipei Economic and Cultural Office] and the state,” she wrote the officials in January 2019, according to the indictment. “I have denied all [r]equests from their office.”
The official responded: “I know and do appreciate your help.”
Among the other actions favorable to the Chinese government alleged in the indictment, Sun covertly added an official in the Chinese Consulate General’s office to a private state government conference call in March 2020 on COVID and hate crimes against Asian Americans, as the virus spread in the U.S.
She also pushed to get Cuomo to publicly thank representatives of the Chinese government for a donation of personal protective equipment in the early days of the pandemic, which he did in public remarks and a tweet on April 4, 2020, according to the indictment.
By contrast, when the Taiwanese government donated 200,000 masks the following month, Sun helped push for a private phone call of thanks from Hochul, who was lieutenant governor at the time, without an accompanying public statement, the indictments says.
In early 2021, Sun successfully advocated to keep the plight of the mostly Muslim Uyghurs being detained in state-run camps in China out of two public statements by Hochul, the indictment says, one of them a video Lunar New Year message released that January.
Sun also helped obtain visas for visiting delegations from Henan Province in China in 2018 and 2019 by “fraudulently obtaining letters that purported to be from the Executive Chamber,” the indictment alleges. The letters of invitation were used by the delegations to secure the visas.
Sun also pushed hard in 2019, at the request of Chinese government representatives, for Hochul to visit Henan Province as lieutenant governor, the indictment alleges. Hochul met with Chinese Consul General Huang Ping that year, in Manhattan in March, but didn’t take a trip to China.
The indictment shows that Sun was on the FBI’s radar since at least July 2020, when she was interviewed by an agent from the bureau. The residence she and Hu own in Long Island was raided by the FBI this July, and prosecutors are seeking to have them forfeit the home, luxury cars and other assets if convicted.
Chinese leaders react
The arrest of Linda Sun has ignited intense discussions among Chinese employees in New York City and State governments. A state government employee working as an Asian community liaison, who requested anonymity, noted that in recent years, the federal government has become increasingly stringent in its investigations of Chinese individuals in political and scientific fields.
“While some defendants have been convicted, many others had their charges dropped, but their careers and reputations were already ruined,” he said in Mandarin, alluding to past cases brought by the federal government. He and some of his Chinese colleagues fear that these investigations could create a chilling effect, fostering suspicion and negative perceptions of Chinese people in academia and politics.
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Several Chinese community leaders who know Sun praised her work ethic but acknowledged they were unaware of the activities prosecutors alleged she had carried out as an agent for the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.
Justin Yu, who once served as the president of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA), the oldest Chinese organization in Manhattan’s Chinatown, said that although he is from Taiwan, he had a close relationship with Linda Sun.
During the pandemic, Yu sought government assistance for Chinatown residents, particularly the elderly, to obtain COVID-19 vaccines and translation services. He recalled that Sun facilitated the delivery of the first batch of vaccines from the New York State government to the pop-up vaccination site established at the CCBA.
“I am very grateful to her; she was very attentive to the interests of the Chinese community,” Yu said in Mandarin. Yu noted that although Linda Sun was aware of the CCBA’s stance in support of Taiwan, she frequently attended events supporting the association.
He noted the increasing presence of Chinese individuals in politics, and suggested that political appointees who play a role in decision-making may be more susceptible to influences than career bureaucrats.
“Their positions are both important and sensitive, requiring extra caution,” Yu explained. “In the current climate of U.S.-China rivalry, maintaining close ties with the Chinese government can impact some U.S. government employees’ work, but not all Chinese employees in the U.S. government are connected to the Chinese Communist Party. I hope the U.S. government understands that Chinese Americans do not represent the Chinese government.”
Peter Tu, chief advisor of the Flushing Chinese Business Association and a long-time Chinese community activist who has known Sun for over 10 years, described her as a dedicated and hardworking individual. “I feel regret and sadness for her situation,” Tu said in Mandarin.
He pointed out that many Chinese community organizations and members lack a thorough understanding of U.S. laws and regulations. “They don’t fully grasp what should and shouldn’t be done, and they lack a deep understanding of current affairs,” Tu said.
He added that Sun’s arrest serves as a reminder that anyone working in government must exercise caution when interacting with overseas Chinese community organizations. “Just because community members are unfamiliar with certain concepts doesn’t mean you should compromise on principles. This can lead to negative consequences not only for yourself but also for the entire community.”
Despite recent investigations and arrests of Chinese employees working in local government, Tu is not concerned about significant changes in how the government engages with the Chinese community. “The strength of the Chinese and Asian communities remains strong. Politicians will continue to engage with us and hire Chinese individuals, though they may be more cautious.”
According to Chinese-language media, Sun is a first-generation Chinese American. Born in Nanjing, she immigrated to the United States with her parents at the age of five. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College and later completed a master’s degree at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Sun and her husband, Hu, were married in 2013.
“The federal government has a sordid track record of making accusations against accomplished Chinese-Americans, only to later drop all charges, with no regard to lives and careers destroyed needlessly,” said state Sen. John Liu (D-Queens), whose campaign treasurer and a fundraiser during his 2013 mayoral campaign were convicted in connection with campaign fundraising.
“I’ve worked with Linda Sun for many years and have only known her to be diligent, professional, and conscientious, and she is absolutely innocent until proven otherwise.”
