New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the expulsion of the Chinese Consul General in New York after one of her former aides was accused of acting as an agent for the Chinese Communist government.
CNN reported that at the request of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Hochul had a conversation with a senior official from the State Department.
During a press conference unrelated to the incident, Hochul stated that she had conveyed her desire to expel the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in New York, saying, “I have been informed that the Consul General is no longer at the New York consulate.”
The Chinese Consul General in New York is Huang Ping.
Epoch Times has reached out to Hochul’s office for comment.
On Wednesday morning, the New York Post found Huang Ping hastily leaving the consulate – just hours after Hochul had told reporters that she had requested the expulsion of Huang Ping from an unnamed “senior” State Department official.
Prior to Hochul’s announcement, her former deputy chief of staff Linda Sun and Sun’s husband Chris Hu were arrested by the FBI at their Long Island home on September 3 and appeared in court later that day, facing charges of acting as agents for the Chinese Communist Party, sparking media attention.
On the afternoon of September 3, Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty to all charges in federal court. Sun’s bail was set at $1.5 million, while Hu’s bail was set at $500,000.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Brooklyn Federal Court unveiled an indictment charging Sun with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, along with visa fraud, smuggling of aliens, and money laundering conspiracies. Allegedly, Sun acted on behalf of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Sun’s husband and co-defendant, Chris Hu, was also charged with conspiring to launder money, committing bank fraud, and identity theft.
In response to Sun’s arrest by the FBI and the charges of being a Chinese agent, Hochul expressed anger during an interview with WNYC host Sean Carlson on the evening of September 3, saying, “I am very angry, outraged, and shocked by her shameless behavior. This is a betrayal of trust – trust from the government and the people. I want to tell you that as soon as we (the state government) discovered her misconduct, we immediately fired her and notified the authorities, which led to what happened today.”
Hochul stated on Wednesday that she had been assisting the Department of Justice for several months and will continue to cooperate with them.