A former top state official, who is alleged to have been a Chinese spy, once boasted that Kathy Hochul was “much more obedient” than former Governor Andrew Cuomo.
According to evidence from the corruption trial of the ex‑Albany aide, Linda Sun convinced Hochul—who was Cuomo’s lieutenant governor at the time—to record a Lunar New Year video that promoted the New York consulate. Sun told the officials that she could likely get Hochul to participate, rather than Cuomo, as the Chinese representatives had originally requested. In a message sent to Lihua Li on January 25, 2021, Sun wrote, “She is much more obedient than the governor,” and later added, “The deputy governor listens to me more than the governor does,” complete with a sheepish grin emoji.
The texts, released publicly after being shown to jurors earlier this week, show Sun taking credit for persuading Hochul to film the short clip, in which she wished viewers “xin nian kuai le,” or Happy New Year. The video simply has Hochul calling out “Ping” by name.
Prosecutors claim that Ping allowed his private chef to provide Sun’s family with expensive salted ducks at the same time that the state official, who has served under both Cuomo and Hochul, allegedly acted as an illegal, unregistered foreign agent for China. Sun is also accused of performing a laundry list of favors for Chinese officials in exchange for millions of dollars funneled into her husband Chris Hu’s seafood export company, as well as gifts like the duck and free concert tickets.
The alleged corruption scheme reportedly enabled Sun and Hu to own a Ferrari Roma, a $4 million Long Island mansion, and a $2 million second home in Hawaii. Sun, who was terminated from the state government in 2023 amid misconduct allegations, has pleaded not guilty.
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