Text Messages Reveal Extent of Ex-Aide to Hochul’s Ties to Chinese Consulate, Prosecutors Say

Prosecutors say texts with Chinese consular officers reveal the aide’s close collaboration with the CCP in managing Taiwan’s access to NY state officials.

Linda Sun (R), a former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and her husband, Chris Hu, exit the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Sept. 3, 2024. Huang Xiaotang/The Epoch Times

NEW YORK—A former aide to the New York governor accused of working as an unregistered agent for China consulted with a top Chinese diplomat on how to handle Taiwan relations on behalf of New York state, according to text messages shown at court.

Prosecutors on Nov. 24 said text messages between Linda Sun and multiple Chinese vice consuls revealed a pattern of Sun working closely with the Chinese consulate in New York to manage Taiwan’s access with state governors, first with Andrew Cuomo then with his successor and current governor Kathy Hochul.

The text messages were presented two weeks into Sun’s trial, expected to run for a month, in a federal court in Brooklyn. Sun was charged last year over allegedly using her position in state government to advance the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) interests in return for millions of dollars to her husband’s business activities in China.

As a liaison for Asian American affairs in the New York governor’s office, Sun was the point person dealing with requests from the Chinese consulate as well as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), Taiwan’s unofficial representatives in New York state.

Text messages of her communication with Consul General Huang Ping, prosecutors said, show a warm relationship with one of the most senior Chinese officials stationed in the United States.

When a representative from Taiwan asked to meet Sun at the governor’s office, Sun messaged the consul general to confirm how to proceed.

“I would assume that a visit to the Governor’s office is probably best avoided lest it leads to ramifications of them claiming that we are recognizing them? But wanted to make sure we are on the same page,” Sun wrote on Aug. 7, 2019. Huang did not reply.

In the same message, Sun reminded Huang, “As you know, l have successfully blocked all formal and informal meetings between the Governor, Lt. Governor, and TECO. I myself have maintained a bare minimum of a relationship with them.” Cuomo was governor at the time.

Emails between Sun and her colleague showed they later met with the Taiwan representative on Aug. 20, 2019, but not at the offices of the governor.

The defense argued that maintaining a good relationship with the Chinese community was Sun’s job. Emails presented at the trial showed New York state colleagues asking for Sun’s input on event invitations and other requests related to Taiwan and China.

The prosecution argued that in giving her advice, Sun inserted the CCP’s agenda into her work for the state of New York. Prosecutors presented more than a dozen conversations with different consular officers.

In January 2019, in an oversight, the consulate did not invite Sun to a Chinese New Year party it was hosting. When she found out about the party, she asked her contact, and he welcomed her to join, even without a formal invitation.

Sun replied, highlighting all she has done to build a good relationship between the consulate and the state of New York.

“I don’t want to make things awkward and just show up to the party tomorrow. I very much value my relationship with the consulate and have done many things to make the relationship between the state and the consulate flourish during my tenure with the Governor. Certainly I have managed to stop all relationships between the TECO and the state. I have denied all requests from their office,” she wrote on Jan. 24, 2019.

Replying, the vice consul acknowledged Sun’s value to the consulate in their work: “You are the most important hub connecting us with Gov. Cuomo and his team.”