A few days after the trial of a Chinese US citizen who spied on the US on behalf of China, another case of espionage comes to light, this time about a Chinese woman who acted as a spy for China for 14 years, in exchange for luxury homes and cars and was even an ex-assistant to the governor of New York!
HDN Newsroom
In exchange for a luxury home worth €4 million. dollars in New York, a 2 million country house. A 2024 Ferrari Roma and delivery of a salted Nanjing duck is accused of providing services to China for the past 14 years by New York state councillor Linda Sun.
Sun, who served in that position under both Cuomo and Hochul, is accused of, among other things, helping the Chinese government access an official call about Covid-19, using her position to help Chinese officials by preventing Taiwanese diplomats from contacting the New York state government, and secretly sending documents to Beijing.
In return, Beijing helped Sun, 41, and her husband, Christopher Hu, buy a $4.1 million home. dollars in New York, a $2.1 million ocean-view apartment in Honolulu, Hawaii, and luxury vehicles, including a 2024 Ferrari Roma.
Gifts also include fully paid trips to China, tickets to shows, concerts and sporting events, work in China for Sun cousin, and home deliveries of salted Nanjing-style ducks prepared by a Chinese government official's personal chef. According to the indictment, these meals were given as a gift at least 16 times to Sun and her family.
According to the indictment, the Chinese-born naturalized U.S. citizen Sun "actively concealed that she took actions at the behest, request, or direction" of Chinese government officials and representatives.
The court file describes how in 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Sun found ways for Chinese consular officials to gain access to key New York state officials. In one case, he even managed to secretly add a Chinese official to a private state government call about the public health response to the virus.
In a 2016 message to a Chinese consular official, Sun said "everything is settled" after she removed a top New York politician from an event hosted by Taiwan.
The 41-year-old adviser is also accused of working behind the scenes until January 2021 to "dispel" reports of Beijing detaining Uyghurs. In this context, he reportedly told a Chinese official that he had disagreed with Hochul's speechwriter to remove the reference to the "Uyghur situation" from a draft of the New York governor's statements.
Former New York District Attorney Howard Master told the BBC the charges reflected a "troubling" trend of senior public officials — including former Senator Bob Menendez — receiving gifts from foreign governments.
Federal agents entered the couple's Long Island home and arrested them on 10 counts, but both were released on bail and restricted from traveling to only three U.S. states and avoiding contact with representatives of the Chinese consulate or diplomatic mission in New York.
Prosecutors said Linda Sun, 41, was arrested on Tuesday (3/9) and will be arraigned in court. Her husband, Chris Hu, has also been prosecuted.
While working in the state administration, Sun allegedly prevented representatives of Taiwan's government from meeting with officials and tried to arrange for a high-ranking New York state official to visit China. In return, representatives of the Chinese government facilitated Hu's multimillion-dollar dealings. Chris Hu does business in China.
Among the other gifts they received were salted ducks "à-la Nanjing" cooked by the personal chef of a Chinese government official and delivered to Sun's parents' home.
