Linda Sun maintained close relationships with Chinese officials and boasted about her influence over New York state, according to court records.
NEW YORK—Former aide to New York governors Linda Sun has been on a month-long trial over allegations that she acted as a Chinese agent while employed by the state.
The prosecution presented evidence suggesting that Sun’s connections with Chinese authorities, including text messages, transaction records, and photos involving both Sun and Chinese officials and agents.
As the jury deliberates, here are five takeaways from the trial.
Friendship With Chinese Officials
Sun maintained close relationships with Chinese officials in the United States, according to court records.
In a recorded interview with New York state investigators replayed in court, Sun said she and the New York Chinese Consul General Huang Ping are “personal friends.”
In early 2023, Sun prepared a framed proclamation to Huang on behalf of the New York governor at the request of the Chinese officials, according to prosecutors. Sun, at the time, had transferred to the New York State Labor Department and didn’t have the proper authorization, according to the prosecution.
Sun presented the proclamation at a Chinese New Year event held at the Chinese consulate, according to a post from the consulate. When investigators asked her if she was doing this in her role with the Department of Labor, Sun replied: “No, but I am also personal friends with the consul, so my whole family was there,” according to a recording played at the court.
After she assisted the consulate in holding a welcome event at John F. Kennedy International Airport in July 2021, Huang invited Sun’s family over for dinner “when the epidemic gets better,” according to court exhibits.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Huang wrote to Sun in a message.
The New York Labor Department terminated Sun’s employment in March 2023. But Sun continued communications with Chinese officials, according to court records.
In February 2024, Sun wrote to Huang, asking to talk over the phone and saying she had “something personal to ask” him. Days later, she thanked Huang for sending her Chinese delicacies, saying it would make her Chinese New Year dinner with family “very sumptuous,” according to the text messages.
By Eva Fu and Nicholas Zifcak
