In the U.S. they charge people acting for China, not here

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Kickbacks worth millions, promises of access to key politicians, blocking unfavourable messages disliked by Beijing. These are the allegations against a top political aid charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government.

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The charges weren’t laid in Canada, though; they were laid in New York, where they take issues like foreign interference seriously.

On Tuesday, Linda Sun, 41, the former deputy chief of staff to New York Gov. Kathleen Hochul, was arrested along with her husband Chris Hu. Sun, not only worked for Hochul as a top aide, she had previously worked for Gov. Andrew Cuomo before he stepped down.

“As alleged, while appearing to serve the people of New York as Deputy Chief of Staff within the New York State Executive Chamber, the defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government and the CCP,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace.

According to officials, Sun allegedly ensured that key messaging coming out of the governor’s office mirrored what Beijing wanted, that she blocked “representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to high-level New York State officers” and arranged meetings between Chinese government officials and New York State government representatives.

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In exchange for the favours, the United States Department of Justice claims that Sun and her husband were given millions of dollars in kickbacks that allowed them to buy a $4-million home on Long Island, a $2.1-million condo in Hawaii, a Ferrari and other luxury cars.

The indictment against the couple says that kickbacks were funnelled through Hu’s company and other benefits were offered to Sun’s family in China, including jobs, promotions, and invitations to events. The pair allegedly laundered money as part of the scheme, allowing them to live their lavish lifestyle.

Sun is charged with “violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy.” Hu is charged with “money laundering conspiracy, as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of means of identification.”

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The question every Canadian should be asking is where are the charges here?

We know that China has tried, and in some cases, succeeded to interfere in Canadian domestic affairs. From election interference to Chinese police stations used to intimidate Canadians to the Winnipeg Lab case, there is no end to China’s subterfuge.

Has anyone been charged in connection with the Winnipeg Lab case?

No.

Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, were quietly escorted out Canada’s highest security biolab — where they had allegedly worked to further China’s interests — and then disappeared. The Trudeau government fought releasing any information on what had happened for five years because it would embarrass the government — not endanger national security.

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In the United States, we would see charges laid and people jailed if convictions were registered.

We had Chinese police stations operating in and around Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver for years. The government denied they existed, then claimed they had been shut down, then had to admit they were still operating but, don’t worry, they are working on it.

In New York City, authorities arrested and charged two men last year for allegedly operating a similar police station; charges have never been laid here in Canada.

Finally, of course, we have the election interference scandal. There were 11 candidates, both Liberal and Conservative, who were allegedly helped by the Chinese consulate in Toronto in the 2019 federal election.

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That plan, which the government has known about for years, was a main focus of the public inquiry into foreign interference. Remarkably, not only have there been no charges, we don’t know the names of the 11 candidates, some of whom are surely MPs or the 13 staffers – people like Linda Sun – who also participated.

In the United States, actions like this result in criminal prosecution. In Canada, it results in Justin Trudeau trying to ignore the issue, then claiming he takes things seriously and then trying to pat us on the head and tell us we have nothing to worry about.

We’ve seen what China will allegedly do at the state level in New York; we need to know the full details of what happened here.

Start by naming the 11.

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