Key Points
Linda Sun, a China-born naturalised citizen of the United States, has been arrested on charges of spying for Beijing..
A US indictmentalleges thatSun, who served asdeputy chief of staffto New YorkGovernor Kathy Hochul andan aideto the statesformerGovernor Andrew Cuomo,was covertlyworkingforthePeoples Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party...
This case highlights the far-reaching and sophisticated operations of Chinas United Front Work Department (UFWD) overseas..
Sunsalleged activitiesinclude obstructing Taiwanese representatives access to the governors office, omitting references to Uyghursand human rights violations in Xinjiangfrom official speeches, influencing messaging to favourChinaand CCP,and facilitating Chinese delegations trip to the US withfraudulent state invites.In return, Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, are said to have received millions of dollars and other favoursfrom their handlers in Beijing...
Suns case perfectly illustrates this approach, intertwining appeals to her Chinese heritage with monetary rewards for herself, her family, and her relatives back in China.Truly a serious problem for the US, especially when added to a growing list of similar cases...