Gov. Kathy Hochul is getting ripped over a cringe Lunar New Year video she shot at the request of an alleged Chinese agent, with rival Rep. Elise Stefanik blasting the Democrat as “compromised.”
Hochul shot the awkward clip for China’s New York consulate in 2021 when she was still lieutenant governor and wished viewers “xin nian kuai le” — or “Happy New Year,” the newly resurfaced footage shows.
“Footage HERE of the video Kathy Hochul so ‘obediently’ filmed for the Chinese Communist Party after her Chinese Communist spy coaxed her into it,” Stefanik posted on X on Thursday as she shared the video.
Gov. Kathy Hochul appears in a Lunar New Year video.
“This is her same Chinese spy and top former aide who’s on trial for doing favors on behalf of Chinese officials in exchange for millions of dollars,” the GOP gubernatorial candidate wrote.
“Kathy is compromised,” Stefanik said.
The 2-minute video, which is featured on the Chinese Consul’s YouTube page, was dredged up as Hochul’s former aide, Linda Sun, faced Brooklyn federal court Thursday on charges she sold influence to China.
The clip was referenced in court as prosecutors argued the accused Beijing mole once bragged Hochul was “much more obedient” than then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and took credit for coaxing her to film the message.
Hochul celebrates the Lunar New Year.
“She is much more obedient than the governor,” Sun allegedly wrote to China consular official Lihua Li in a Jan. 25, 2021, message.
The Chinese officials had asked initially for Cuomo to film the Lunar New Year video, but Sun allegedly suggested she was more likely to get Hochul to participate instead.
“Can you share with me some talking points of things you want her to mention? I can make sure to include it in her remarks,” Sun wrote in the messages shown to jurors.
In the final product, Hochul referenced Huang Ping, who headed the consulate office at the time, saying it was a “privilege” to have worked with him on issues impacting Chinese New Yorkers.
Linda Sun arrives at court in New York City last month. Getty ImagesSun is currently being tried on charges she sold her influence to the Chinese government and illegally profited from the state’s bulk purchase of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She was fired from New York state government in 2023 after the spy allegations surfaced.
Jurors in Brooklyn federal court Friday heard audio of Sun trying to explain to state investigators why she had phony gubernatorial “proclamations” drawn up for her dad and uncle — to be hung up in her relatives’ homes — without getting permission.
“Is there something wrong with that?” the squirrely former state official can be heard saying in a taped interview.
Thomas Collery, a state prober who had been questioning Sun at the time, testified Friday that Sun “seemed sweaty and nervous” during the interview — and lied several times.
“It was noticeable to us that she confidently lied to us,” Collery told jurors.
Albany legislators have argued Sun’s unfolding trial is proof that action is needed to stamp out possible foreign influence at the state level.
“This is about our national security and the integrity of our state government,” said state Sen. Jake Ashby (R-Rensselaer), sponsored a bill in the Senate that would create a commission to investigate foreign influence.
Hochul speaks at a Lunar New Year Benefit in February 2023. Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images“Assemblyman [Matt] Slater and I need our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to realize how important this is. Our bipartisan legislative commission would follow the facts wherever they lead,” he said.
Slater (R-Putnam), who recently introduced the bill in the state assembly, said, “China is our nation’s greatest pacing threat, and there is alarming evidence that they have infiltrated, impacted and influenced our elections and state government operations.
“We cannot ignore this a moment longer and we must take decisive action to protect our nation and state.
“This is about our national security and the integrity of our state government.”
-Additional reporting by Ben Kochman






