In wake of charges against governor’s aide, Asian-Americans fear a backlash

Arrest of Linda Sun, ex-deputy chief of staff to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, for acting as an agent of Beijing raises concerns of reinforcing suspicions

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Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and her husband, Chris Hu, exit federal court in Brooklyn after being arraigned on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:35pm, 5 Sep 2024Updated: 8:06am, 6 Sep 2024

When Russell Jeung heard this week that a Chinese-American former aide to New York’s governor was indicted on charges of acting as an agent of Beijing, his spirits plunged. His concern matched that of others who feared the collateral damage: that this could stir a fresh wave of prejudice against the Asian-American Pacific Islander community.

“I’m crestfallen. I don’t know a better way to describe it. It’s what racial minorities feel when a stereotype gets realised,” said Jeung, an Asian American Studies professor at San Francisco State University and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate.

“Here’s another real-life example of an old ‘Yellow Peril’ stereotype. It then reinforces the broader society’s view of Chinese-Americans as suspects and as potential spies and as disloyal.”

On Tuesday, Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to Governor Kathy Hochul and an aide to former governor Andrew Cuomo before that, was charged with acting as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government and laundering millions of dollars.

Chris Hu, her husband and co-defendant, was charged with money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, prosecutors said.

The case is likely to have political and international fallout after Hochul called for the expulsion of China’s consul general, Huang Ping. The US State Department sought to play down Huang’s departure, calling it “the end of a regular scheduled rotation”.

As the news hit the front pages, AAPI members voiced apprehension of blowback.