A high-ranking Chinese official in New York is at loggerheads with the Linda Sun case. Or is he?

Federal prosecutors allege that a senior Chinese official in New York had frequent, often secret, contact with an indicted former aide to Governor Kathy Hochul, though what that means for his job depends on who you ask.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Hochul said she had asked the U.S. State Department to remove China's consul general in New York from his post — after which a senior federal official told her the official was no longer in office. Those comments came a day after Linda Sun, Hochul's former deputy chief of staff, was indicted on charges of being an agent for the Chinese government.

A few hours later, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Chinese official Huang Ping had already left his post in August – and had not been fired or expelled, as Hochul had suggested.

But in an unsigned statement to Gothamist, the Chinese consulate's New York press office presented a different version of events, claiming Huang was still in office.

“Consul General Huang Ping is carrying out his duties as usual,” said the statement, sent from a Gmail address on the consulate's official website. “We hope the media will refrain from sensationalizing false information.”

The confusion surrounding Huang's employment is the latest strange twist in an already bizarre story that made national headlines on Tuesday after federal prosecutors accused Sun of secretly communicating Chinese government priorities to New York state government officials without registering as a foreign agent.

In return, prosecutors said, people with ties to the Chinese government helped Sun's husband's seafood export company gain a foothold in China, earning the company the few million dollars it spent on expensive cars and luxury real estate.

Sun's close relationship with Huang is a recurring theme in the 65-page indictment, which accuses Sun and her husband, Christopher Hu, of a series of serious crimes.

Huang is not mentioned directly in the document, at least not by name. But he appears dozens of times under the name “PRC.” [People’s Republic of China] Official-1.” A Gothamist review of identifying information in the document — including references to posts he made on Facebook and a photo with Sun on the Chinese consulate’s website — confirms that Huang is the unnamed official.

According to the indictment, Sun asked Huang for advice on messaging, persuaded Hochul to record a New Year's message for the official's Facebook page and arranged for a gubernatorial proclamation to be issued in Huang's honor – without following proper protocol.

Sun and her husband pleaded not guilty in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Hu's lawyer called the charges “inflammatory” and “confusing.” No charges were filed against Huang.

On Wednesday, Hochul said she was “outraged” by Sun's alleged behavior. And she called on the State Department to “expel” Huang.

“They informed me that this person is no longer the consul general of the New York mission,” Hochul said, telling reporters she had just spoken to a senior federal official. “I know they are no longer in office. That's all I know.”

At a briefing Wednesday afternoon, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed that Hochul had spoken with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell earlier in the day. He clarified that Huang was not forced to resign, but that his term was coming to an end.

“To our knowledge, the Consul General reached the end of his regularly scheduled rotation in August and was relieved of his duties, but not fired,” Miller said.

When asked if a new consul general was in office, Miller said he was not sure and left it to the Chinese government to comment.

Shortly after Miller's briefing ended, the Chinese consulate's press office sent Gothamist an email claiming that Huang was still in office. When asked by the State Department, Gothamist was referred to Miller's comments.

The indictment against Sun states that she had an open dialogue with Huang for years.

Prosecutors say Huang reached out to Sun in early 2021 to ask for a greeting for the consulate's virtual celebration. According to the indictment, Huang asked for a video of then-Governor Andrew Cuomo. Sun told him she could probably reach Hochul, who was serving as lieutenant governor at the time, the indictment says.

Hochul eventually recorded a short, innocuous video wishing the Chinese people well in their celebration and expressing his support for the diversity that “comes about the immigrants who have found their way here and built this country.”

Huang posted the video – accompanied by traditional Chinese imagery and music – on his public Facebook page and said it was from “my old friend Kathy Hochul.”

But behind the scenes, Sun is said to have communicated with Huang about how he could influence Hochul's public statements on issues important to China, such as the “situation of the Uighurs.” The Chinese government's treatment of the Uighur people has led to numerous allegations of human rights violations.

According to emails cited in the indictment, Sun Huang said she prevented a Hochul speechwriter from making a reference to the Uighur people in the Chinese New Year video.

In other emails cited in the indictment, Sun boasted to Huang that she had “successfully blocked all formal and informal meetings” between Taiwanese officials and Cuomo or Hochul. China does not recognize Taiwan as an official country and refuses to establish diplomatic relations with countries that do.

Federal prosecutors allege that Sun obtained a framed gubernatorial proclamation for Huang in 2023 without authorization as part of another New Year's celebration. However, because she did not receive permission from her supervisor to do so, the proclamation was never recorded in the governor's tracking system, according to the indictment.

The indictment shows that Sun and Huang's relationship went beyond proclamations and Facebook videos.

It says Sun's parents received Nanjing-style salted ducks on four separate occasions – which prosecutors say is further evidence of bribes from Chinese officials. According to the indictment, the ducks came from Huang's personal chef.

Update: This story has been updated to include a response the State Department sent after publication.

Correction: This article has been updated to correct a reference to Huang Ping's name.