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 back in 2021 when she was still lieutenant governor as she 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.
“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.”
“Kathy is compromised,” Stefanik added.
The two-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 on 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 — as she took credit for coaxing her to film the message.
“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.
Sun 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 the state government in 2023 after the spy allegations first surfaced.
Meanwhile, Albany legislators argued Sun’s unfolding trial was proof action was needed to stamp out possible foreign influence on a state level.
“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,” Assemblyman Matt Slater (R-Putnam), who recently introduced a bill that would create a commission to investigate foreign influence, told The Post.
“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,” State Sen. Jake Ashby, a Republican from Washington who sponsors the bill on the Senate side, added.
“Assemblyman 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 led.”
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