Former Queens political player accused of secretly acting as Chinese agent
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Linda Sun, a former state employee with Queens connections, was indicted on Tuesday for using her job to influence state policy on China and Taiwan on behalf of the Chinese government. Photo via the Eastern District of New York
By Ryan Schwach
A former top aide in the governor’s office with Queens ties was indicted on Tuesday for allegedly secretly attempting to influence New York officials at the behest of the Chinese government.
Linda Sun, a former top official in the executive chamber who once ran the governor’s Asian affairs efforts in Queens, appeared before a federal judge on Tuesday and now faces a slew of charges alleging she used her government role to act on behalf of Chinese government officials.
According to the 64-page indictment, Sun used her role from 2016 to 2022 to manipulate both former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Governor Kathy Hochul’s policies related to both China and Taiwan, and was rewarded for her actions by the Chinese government.
Sun was indicted on 10 counts, including violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy.
Her husband, Chris Hu, was also charged with money laundering, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of means of identification.
“As alleged, while appearing to serve the people of New York…the defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government and the [Chinese Communist Party],” said United States Attorney Breon Peace. “The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars.”
The husband and wife duo have connections in Queens. Hu had businesses in the borough, including a liquor store, and Sun previously worked for now-Congressmember Grace Meng when Meng served as a member of the State Assembly.
In 2012, Sun was hired by Cuomo to become his administration’s liaison to local Asian American communities, specifically in Queens. She later became the external affairs director of Empire State Development’s Global NY program, a post that included leading trade and investment missions to five different countries each year, according to her LinkedIn profile.
According to the indictment, Sun began acting on behalf of agents of the Chinese Communist Party in 2016 while working for the Cuomo Administration.
On numerous occasions, Sun stopped Taiwanese officials from meeting or communicating with either administration at the order of Chinese officials.
China does not acknowledge Taiwan as a nation, and neither does the United States.
Neither Cuomo nor Hochul had expressed an explicit policy, and often turned to Sun when attempting to navigate the hot-button political issue, the indictment claims.
At times, Sun stopped Hochul and Cuomo from communicating with the de facto Taiwanese embassy, and also stopped them from making appearances at Taiwanese events.
In January 2019, Sun allegedly bragged about her work helping China and stopping Taiwan from making inroads in Albany.
“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 [Cuomo],” Sun wrote in a text to a Chinese official. “Certainly I have managed to stop all relationships between [Taiwan] and the state.”
Going further, Sun approved language in official statements from Cuomo and Hochul.
In August 2019, she changed a statement from Cuomo commemorating soldiers and veterans of the U.S. and Taiwanese armed forces to avoid any recognition of Taiwan itself.
In 2021, when Hochul was governor, Sun allegedly allowed one of her Chinese government contacts to help write and modify a statement from the governor regarding Lunar New Year.
“Can you share with me some talking points of things you want her to mention?” Sun texted to the contact. “I can make sure to include it in her remarks.”
The contact told her to eliminate any references to the plight of Uyghurs, a Muslim minority in China which has faced widespread prejudice and prosecution, from the statement.
Hochul made no reference to the Uyghurs in that 2021 Lunar New Year statement.
Twice in 2019, Sun also allegedly forged invitation letters from Hochul to get Chinese government officials into the U.S. for meetings.
In 2022, Sun was moved into the Department of Labor, where she allegedly continued to work on behalf of China, doing work outside the capacity of her job at the department.
FBI officials said that Sun’s actions threatened American national security.
“Sun wielded her position of influence among executives to covertly promote [People’s Republic of China] and [Chinese Communist Party] agendas, directly threatening our country’s national security,” said FBI Acting Assistant Director Christie Curtis. “In return for these actions, Sun was handsomely rewarded.”
She and her husband received millions in travel benefits, tickets, gourmet meals, luxury cars including a Ferrari, a $3.6 million home in Long Island and a $2 million highrise condo in Hawaii, according to prosecutors.
Sun and Hu are accused of laundering the money and benefits they received from Sun’s Chinese handlers.
In a response to Sun’s Tuesday arrest, Hochul’s office said that she was fired as soon as they knew about her misconduct.
“This individual was hired by the executive chamber more than a decade ago,” Press Secretary Avi Small said. “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 the process.”
Representatives for Meng’s office did not respond to comment on Tuesday, but another Queens elected official, State Senator John Liu, defended Sun.
"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,” he said in a statement. “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.”
Sun and Hu both pleaded not guilty during their arraignment on Tuesday, and are due back in court on Sept. 25.
