On Wednesday, the State Department denied a claim made by Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul concerning the consul general of China in the state, as reported by CNN. Earlier that day, Hochul asserted that Huang Ping, the Chinese consul general in New York, had been dismissed from his position following the indictment of her former aide, Linda Sun. According to CNN, Sun is accused of acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party and was indicted on Tuesday for purportedly “violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy.”
“The consul general was not expelled. Our understanding is that the consul general reached the end of a regularly scheduled rotation in August, and so rotated out of the position, but was not expelled,” Matthew Miller, State Department spokesperson, explained, according to CNN. “But, of course, when it comes to the status of particular employees of a foreign mission, I would refer you to the foreign country to speak to it, but there was no expulsion action.”
In July, the FBI conducted a raid on Sun’s Long Island residence, valued at $3.5 million, following the execution of a search warrant authorized by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn. The indictment against Sun claims that she served as an undisclosed agent for the Chinese government, manipulating state communications on significant matters and obstructing Taiwanese representatives from engaging with state officials.
On Tuesday, Sun and her spouse entered a plea of not guilty, as reported by The New York Times. They were subsequently released on bond. Hochul has not yet provided a response to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s inquiry for comment.
