Updated on Sept. 4, 2024, at 9:42 p.m. ET
A senior-level official at the Chinese consulate in New York, Consul General Huang Ping, has apparently left his position. But a suggestion by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier Wednesday that he was removed from the post was later refuted by the State Department, which said that Huang’s term had ended last month.
The confusion started when Hochul told reporters that she had conveyed to the State Department her desire to have the consul general expelled because of his connection to her former aide, Linda Sun. Sun was charged on Tuesday with secretly acting as an agent of the Chinese government.
Hochul said she was told that Huang was gone, which led to reports that he had been expelled, a step that could have triggered a diplomatic dispute with China.
“I have been informed that the consul general is no longer in the New York mission,” Hochul said.
Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, later said that Huang had left his post but had not been expelled.
Still, the issue of the Chinese government’s activities in this country and their efforts to sway the views of people in the United States is one “that we take very seriously,” Miller said.
According to the Chinese Consulate General in New York's website, Huang began his tenure in New York on Nov. 15, 2018. His most recent public engagement was a visit to Boston from August 20-22.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, called reports of Huang's expulsion "malicious speculations and associations" that are "completely inconsistent with the facts."
"Chinese diplomats in the U.S. are committed to promoting mutual understanding and bilateral cooperation in various fields," he said in an email. "They have never and will not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries."
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The conflicting accounts about Huang's exit show the sensitivity of U.S.-China relations at the moment. The United States has charged several naturalized citizens originally from China of secretly working at the direction of the Communist Party to undermine pro-democracy dissident groups in the United States.
Sun’s case is different. She is accused of accepting cash and other benefits for cutting out references to Taiwan from official documents and other favors. On Tuesday, prosecutors charged her with failing to register as a foreign agent, money laundering, conspiracy and other crimes.
Sun had worked as a top aide to Hochul and to Gov. Andrew Cuomo before that.
Sun’s husband, Christopher Hu, 41, was also arrested. According to the indictment, he helped with kickbacks, facilitating the transfer of millions of dollars. He has been charged with money laundering, conspiracy and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Alex Willemyns for RFA contributed to this story. Edited by Jim Snyder.
Updated to add comment from Chinese Embassy spokesman.