Who is Kathy Hochul’s Chinese ‘spy’ Linda Sun? Ivy League graduate ‘infiltrated government’ to pump taxpayer funds into the COVID crisis

A high-ranking New York government official was allegedly working as a Chinese spy while pumping taxpayer funds into masks and ventilators during the COVID pandemic, it emerged last night. 

Linda Sun, an Ivy League graduate who worked for Democratic Governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, was dramatically arrested Tuesday alongside her husband following an earlier dawn raid on her $4million Long Island mansion. 

Sun and her husband Christopher Hu are accused of earning millions in kickbacks from the Chinese Communist Party, helping fund a lavish lifestyle that included a $2million Hawaii condo and a 2024 Ferrari.

Now it has emerged that Sun bragged about ‘spearheading’ the New York government’s purchasing of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to her now-deleted LinkedIn profile. 

Meanwhile her husband Hu, who is accused of acting as the couple’s money launderer, set up a medical supplies company around the time of the pandemic.

Sun is also alleged to have used her influence to further China’s geopolitical agenda by nixing meetings with Taiwanese officials and steering messaging away from criticism of Beijing’s persecution of Uyghur Muslims.

The couple’s $4 five-bedroom mansion in Manhasset, New York, was raided by the FBI on Tuesday morning

Such was Sun’s reputation with Chinese government officials, she was able to arrange for Nanjing-style salted ducks – prepared by a party official’s personal chef – to be delivered to her parents’ home. 

The bombshell 65-page indictment comes amid growing fears of China’s mounting influence across the US – such as buying huge swaths of farmland and pumping millions into schools. 

The couple appeared stony-faced as they left court on Tuesday afternoon, with both pleading not guilty as their attorney described the charges against them as ‘perplexing.’ 

Sun’s bond was set at $1.5 million, while her husband’s was $500,000. They are ordered not to travel beyond New York City, Long Island, Maine and New Hampshire. 

The indictment alleges that Sun ‘acted as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government while her husband, Christopher Hu, facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain.’ 

Hu is known to own a number of businesses, including a liquor store in Queens, alongside the medical firm set up during the pandemic. 

In her now-deleted LinkedIn profile, Sun promoted her role in New York’s response to the pandemic, where she boasted of ‘spearheading the procurement of COVID-19 PPE’ equipment in New York. 

At the same time, it was revealed that city officials were severely overspending on pandemic medical equipment, which resulted in $225 million worth of surplus PPE being auctioned off for just $500,000 last year, according to The City. 

Over 70 percent of America’s PPE equipment was manufactured in China, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.  

Sun is seen above being honored at a People’s Republic of China consulate event in an image included in the Department of Justice’s indictment 

Linda Sun, a former high ranking New York government official, is accused by prosecutors of influencing government on behalf of the CCP 

The significant amount of money and power flowing through New York’s political scene provided an ideal environment for the CCP to wield influence through Sun, according to the indictment. 

Through Sun’s time in Albany – before she was fired in March 2023 due to ‘misconduct’ – she is accused of conspiring with the CCP in various ways, including blocking Taiwanese officials from access to the governor’s office. 

She is also accused of altering state messaging to be favorable for the Chinese, removing any references to Taiwan, and ensuring officials did not publicly address the CCP’s persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China. 

In one interaction alleged in the indictment, Governor Hochul was invited to meet with the ambassador of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, to which Sun replied: ‘No meeting please… Kindly decline. Do not want her to wade into this China/Taiwan sensitivity.’ 

In another alleged blocking incident in 2019, Sun was said to have told representatives of Tsai Ing-wen – then-President of Taiwan – that Governor Cuomo was unable to meet during Ing-wen’s controversial visit. 

She then allegedly wrote to a Chinese government official: ‘I already blocked it.’ 

That same day, she was pictured attending a protest in Manhattan against the Taiwanese premier’s visit. 

Sun at a 2019 protest against the Taiwanese president’s visit in NYC, per prosecutors

Alongside allegedly receiving millions for their actions, it is also claimed that Sun facilitated the delivery of ‘Nanjing-style salted ducks.’ 

The delivery of the specialty ducks occurred on at least three separate occasions, part of a series of pay-offs that prosecutors say tie Sun to the CCP’s influence. 

It is not clear when prosecutors say Sun began working for the CCP, with her career in New York politics spanning almost 15 years. 

She began in 2009 as the chief of staff for New York State Assembly member Grace Meng, who is now a member of congress.

Sun then held posts in the administration of former Governor Andrew Cuomo starting in 2012, including as Global New York Trade Manager, Asian Outreach Director for the Office of the Governor and Queens Regional Representative.

In 2018 the Cuomo administration named Sun as chief diversity officer, before, in September 2021, she was appointed as the deputy chief of staff for Hochul, according to her LinkedIn profile. She remained on the role for about 15 months.

In November of 2022 she moved to a job at the New York Department of Labor, where she served as deputy commissioner for strategic business development, but she departed that job just months later in March of 2023, the profile said.

After leaving state government, Sun went to work as campaign manager for Democrat Austin Cheng in an unsuccessful run for Congress on Long Island. 

Hochul’s spokesman told the New York Times that Sun ‘was hired by the executive chamber more than a decade ago.’

He added that the governor’s administration ‘immediately reported her actions to law enforcement and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process.’ 

She was fired in March 2023 after officials uncovered evidence of misconduct. 

Prior to her work in government she attended Barnard College before pursuing a master’s degree in teaching at Columbia University.

In September 2021, Sun was appointed as the deputy chief of staff for governor Hochul

Sun, seen earlier in her career, was fired by Hochul in March 2023 after ‘discovering evidence of misconduct’ 

Sun’s arrest comes after federal prosecutors issued subpoenas to NYC Mayor Eric Adams, his campaign arm and City Hall in a probe into the Democrat’s 2021 run that allegedly tied him to the Turkish government. 

It also comes just weeks after Queens resident Shajun Wang, 75, was convicted in Brooklyn Federal Court of acting as a spy for the CCP. 

Three men in New Jersey were also convicted last summer after stalking a family on  behalf of the CCP, according to the Times.