A former top New York state official who is accused of spying for China once remarked that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was “much more obedient” than then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Linda Sun made the remark after she convinced Hochul, who served as Cuomo’s lieutenant governor at the time, to film a Lunar New Year video touting China’s New York consulate, the New York Post reported, citing evidence presented at Sun’s corruption trial.

“She is much more obedient than the governor,” Sun wrote to China consular official Lihua Li in a Jan. 25, 2021, message shown to jurors in Brooklyn federal court.

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Minutes later, Sun texted Huang Ping, who headed the consulate office at the time.

“The deputy governor listens to me more than the governor does,” she allegedly wrote, prosecutors said.

Chinese officials had asked for Cuomo to film the video, but Sun told them that she could likely get Hochul to participate instead, prosecutors said.

“Let me ask, but likely the LG can probably do it,” Sun replied to Li, referring to Hochul.

“That would be great as well. Thanks,” Li responded.

In the two-minute video, Hochul is seen wishing everyone a happy Lunar New Year and talking about the “privilege” of working with the Chinese-American community and the Chinese consular office. Fox News Digital has reached out to Hochul’s office.

Sun, who also served under Hochul, is charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy.

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Prosecutors from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office believe that Sun acted on behalf of the Chinese government on a number of occasions, including seeking a high-level state visit to China and preventing representatives of the Taiwanese government from meeting with American officials.

In 2023, Sun was fired from her position after “evidence of misconduct” was discovered. She is accused of doing favors for Chinese officials in exchange for millions of dollars in business funneled to her husband, Chris Hu, who conducted business in China.

Hu and Sun are accused of using the money to buy property in Long Island, New York, and Honolulu worth more than $6 million, in addition to a 2024 Ferrari Roma sports car.

In one instance, Sun allegedly claimed to be able to stop Cuomo from mentioning the plight of the Uyghurs, the predominantly Muslim ethnic group that has been targeted by the Chinese government through mass incarceration and forced labor, according to human rights advocates.

In the Jan. 25, 2021, exchange with Ping, Sun wrote that she had an “argument” with Cuomo’s speechwriter, who had “insisted” on bringing up the Uyghurs, according to the Post report.

“This person has never been to China, right? He knows very little about China,” Ping replied.

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“Never been there,” Sun said. “I’m going to collapse.”

“I will think of a solution tomorrow, but I will definitely not let the governor bring it up,” Sun added.

Sun’s lawyers argued that her relationship with Chinese officials was not improper and was legal.

“Linda Sun did what she was hired to do. She didn’t commit a crime by doing her job,” defense attorney Jarrod Schaeffer told jurors at the start of the trial, the Post reported.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday announced an investigation into what he called a “troubling incident,” in which a midwestern school allegedly vaccinated a child without their parent’s consent.

In a video statement on X, Kennedy said that HHS is taking “decisive steps” to defend parents’ rights to guide their child’s health decisions following the alleged incident.

“A school administered a federally funded vaccine to a child without the parent’s consent and despite a legally recognized state exemption,” he said. “When any institution — a school, a doctor’s office, a clinic — disregards a religious exemption, it doesn’t just break trust, it also breaks the law.”

“We’re not going to tolerate it,” he added.

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Kennedy did not identify the state, the school or the vaccine said to be involved.

Kennedy said that the Trump administration will ensure that health care providers and institutions will not ignore parental rights when it comes to their children’s health.

“We will use every tool we have to protect families and restore accountability,” he said.

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Kennedy said HHS is launching compliance reviews of major providers and health care systems to ensure that they give parents timely access to their children’s information. He said a letter will be issued reminding providers of “their clear legal duty” to share medical records with parents — with “no delays, no secrets, no excuses.”

A second letter from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) went to HRSA grant recipients, stressing that federal dollars require compliance with laws protecting parental rights.

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HHS is also reviewing how states and districts process medical and religious exemptions to ensure the federally funded Vaccines for Children program complies with federal and state law.

Kennedy added that parents may file complaints with the HHS Office for Civil Rights if they believe their rights — or their children’s — have been violated.

SACRAMENTO — As the lone Republican on stage, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco stood out as the only vocal supporter of school vouchers during a gubernatorial candidate forum Wednesday focused on education.

“If you are deciding where you want to eat dinner, you choose the restaurant with the best food, and the other restaurant is not going to get your service until they change their policies,” Bianco said. “I will be the only person offering voucher systems for all of your kids.”

His remark, prompted by a question about how to best support rural students, earned booing and a couple of cheers from the crowd at the California School Boards Assn.’s annual conference in Sacramento.

Voucher systems, which provide public money to parents to pay for private school tuition, are highly controversial. Supporters believe vouchers offer new opportunities for students and create a competitive environment that encourages all schools to improve. Opponents argue it takes away needed funding from public schools.

During the event, candidates discussed a range of issues that impact learning, including public school funding, teacher shortages and achievement gaps.

The candidates at the forum included: Bianco, former State Controller Betty Yee, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon and California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

While many California voters remain undecided on who to support in the 2026 governor’s race, Bianco narrowly led the field in a November poll released by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times. The top Democrat in the survey was former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter. Tied for third place were former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, and conservative commentator Steve Hilton.

A spokesperson for the school boards association said all candidates running for governor were not asked to participate because it would have been more difficult to manage. The association instead invited the candidates it considered most viable based on several factors, including name recognition and previous offices held.

All of the candidates agreed on one overall message: The state’s current system is failing the roughly 5.8 million K-12 students enrolled in public schools.

“Something is broken,” said Villaraigosa. “Information is the currency of our economy and yet we got too many kids who can’t read and write. And when you look at who those kids are, they are disproportionately poor, disproportionately of color, and it is unacceptable in a state this rich.”

Each candidate offered slightly different takes on how to help.

Calderon called for more parental involvement and urged schools to improve outreach efforts and work hand-in-hand with families. He said addressing the state’s housing crisis was also crucial.

“You cannot have an achievement gap that you narrow,” he said, “if there is not secure housing for people. If you have uncertainty in the home and you don’t know where you are sleeping at night, then how are students going to succeed?”

Thurmond said more revenue streams were needed to support the school system.

“I am going to tax billionaires so we have more revenue for California’s schools,” he said, adding it was time for the ultra rich to “pay their fair share.”

Bianco disputed the assertion that more funding was needed and pointed out California is the fourth-largest economy in the world.

“We have never, never had a revenue problem,” he said. “Our problems are 100% a spending problem.”

To help with the teacher shortage, Thurmond proposed developing two million housing units on surplus school-owned land to provide educators with affordable living options.

Yee said she would prioritize general workforce housing for the public sector but not educator housing on school property. She explained she did not want school districts to become landlords.

Yee said she would focus on improving teachers’ healthcare and creating a safer and healthier working environment in the classroom. She vowed to value input from educators.

“The local perspective that you all have about how to improve student achievement is what needs to inform state policy,” she said. “What we have instead is just a lack of recognition, frankly, at the state level.”

All candidates shared reservations about California’s mandate phasing out gas-powered school buses by 2035, with most calling for a longer timeline or more exemptions. Bianco said the mandate should be nixed entirely because the government should not dictate what types of vehicles are used.

The forum was held at Sacramento’s SAFE Credit Union Convention Center near the state Capitol. The school boards conference brings together more than 3,500 school board members, superintendents and other education leaders from across the state.