China’s consul general in New York expelled after governor Hochul’s ex-aide indicted for being foreign agent

The US has expelled China’s consul general in New York, a day after Governor Kathy Hochul’s former aide was charged with acting as a foreign agent, according to a CNN report.

Hochul informed that the consul general had been expelled after she made a request. 

“I have conveyed my desire to have the counsel general from the People’s Republic of China and the New York mission expelled, and I’ve been informed that the counsel general is no longer in the New York mission,” said Hochul during a press conference. 

The decision to expel the envoy comes after Linda Sun and her husband, Christopher Hu, were indicted on Tuesday (Sep 2) of being Chinese agents. Sun held a series of positions within the New York State government from 2012 to 2023 – including deputy chief of staff to Hochul for a year, beginning in September 2021.

According to court documents, Sun furthered Chinese interests during her tenure in the state government. She blocked representatives of the Taiwanese government from meeting with officials and attempted to arrange for a New York state official to visit China. 

“Acting at the request of PRC government officials and the [Communist Party of China] representative, Sun engaged in numerous political activities in the interests of the PRC and the CCP,” the indictment noted. 

Federal prosecutors added that Sun and Hu used the money received from Chinese overlords to buy multi-million dollar mansions on Long Island and Honolulu, as well as a Ferrari Roma sports car.  

The Chinese government representatives also facilitated millions of dollars in transactions for Hu, who had business activities in China. 

Sun has been charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy. Both Sun and her husband have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Hochul’s office released a statement after Sun’s indictment stating that her employment was terminated in 2023. 

“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,” said Hochul’s press secretary Avi Small. 

Even after her employment was terminated, Sun attended public and professional Asian community events purporting to represent the Department of Labor while claiming to be the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Labor. 

(With inputs from agencies)