Former New York Governor Kathy Hochul aide Linda Sun and her husband, Christopher Hu, not in photo, leave Brooklyn Federal Court after their arraignment, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in New York.

ALBANY — Early in 2021, a Chinese government official wrote Linda Sun to ask if then Gov. Andrew Cuomo would deliver a video message commemorating the Lunar New Year.

Sun replied that Kathy Hochul, then the lieutenant governor, would probably do it.

“Can you share with me some talking points of things you want her to mention?” Sun added, as detailed in a new federal indictment accusing the former top state aide of secretly working for the Chinese government. “I can make sure to include it in her remarks.”

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Later, though, Sun discovered a problem: An unnamed speechwriter was insisting that Hochul mention the Uyghurs, a repressed Muslim minority in China subjected to reeducation camps, forced sterilization and labor, and intense surveillance.

Sun, in turn, said she was losing her temper with the speechwriter and promised she would fix the situation. In the end, Hochul’s message did not mention the Uyghurs, who deserved attention then and still do today.

But that’s just one of the fascinating — and infuriating — anecdotes in a 64-page........

© Times Union