Latest / Sharp China Podcast / Sharp China: The Arrest of Linda Sun; Overcapacity and Mounting Deflation Concerns; A New Role for Qin Gang; Rock Bottom for PRC Men's Soccer

Transcript

Sharp China: The Arrest of Linda Sun; Overcapacity and Mounting Deflation Concerns; A New Role for Qin Gang; Rock Bottom for PRC Men's Soccer · Sharp China Podcast

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_02: Hello and welcome to Sharp China.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Andrew Sharp and you are listening to a free preview of today's episode.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, according to the allegation or to the indictment, Ms.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Sun was, you know, working for...
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: She worked for the previous governor.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: She was working for the current governor, Hochul, in various roles.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then she had moved over, I think, to the Department of Labor.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then she was fired last year after they seemed to have discovered something and
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: then reported to authorities last spring in 2023.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: But effectively,
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: what the allegations are that she was communicating quite frequently with the PRC
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: consulate in New York,
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: including...
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: from what can be gleaned from the indictment,
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: they don't name him,
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: with the actual Consul General Huang Ping.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: And she was effectively changing messaging or directing messaging about Taiwan and
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: not having the governor not attend certain events or attend certain events that the
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: consulate wanted the governor to attend and basically impart sort of the overall
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: kind of marginalizing Taiwan.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then for that, she was given several gifts, stuff that
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Didn't seem to be worth a lot of money directly,
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: but certainly were,
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think,
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: in violation of whatever ethics rules you would have working for the New York State government.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: The one that got the most headlines was that the consul general's personal chef
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: prepared multiple dishes of Nanjing salted duck for her parents.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: I like that that made it into the reporting alongside payoffs that included millions of dollars.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: I'm glad you were highlighting the salted ducks.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: And the bigger money flows, I mean, the husband had recently bought a Ferrari.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: They lived in an expensive house that certainly wasn't affordable on the civil servant's salary.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: But he had several businesses, like export businesses.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: And the allegation,
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: the indictment basically says that a bunch of business was steered to his companies
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: because of her and the relationship she had set up and the way that the consulate
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: was and other people.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Organizations connected to the United Front were effectively trying to curry favor, exercise influence.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then I think then on the flip side of that,
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: her husband was then getting business contracts steered to his.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think one of the things he was doing was exporting lobsters to the PRC.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: She's also accused of visa fraud because she procured fake invitation letters for delegation from Qanon.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, you basically when you submit your visa application to the U.S.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: consulate or embassy, you know, you want to have an invitation letter.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're a government official saying,
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm inviting these people and you've actually forged a signature,
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: that is a felony.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: So is this United Front work?
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_02: Is this essentially what the United Front is engaged in?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like what part of the PRC government would manage operations?
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I think there are multiple things going on.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: One, you just have the consulate doing its job.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: You have diplomats at the New York consulate who are pushing.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: They have an agenda about Taiwan.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: They found somebody in the New York government who they could work with on
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: furthering their goals towards how they effectively marginalize Taiwan.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: So that's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Then you also had,
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: though,
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: from the indictment,
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: these sort of overseas Chinese group,
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: these other entities that look like they're connected to the United Front that were
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: then working with the husband.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, she was invited to some events in China that were part of the overseas Chinese work.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: But then he was also then given this.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: So it looks like,
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: there's sort of multiple pieces going on here that are all part of a broader
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: campaign to.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: effectively have a friend in the New York State government and use that as an entry
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: point to further their agendas?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah,
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: well,
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: and if she was covertly working on behalf of the CCP and its agenda,
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_02: which is only an allegation,
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_02: but I would say that she and her benefactors were pretty bad at the covert aspect
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_02: of that.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: part of it is certainly if you're regularly communicating with,
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: say,
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: the consul general and you're using email or other electronic devices,
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's pretty likely that the consul general is someone who would be the
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: subject of surveillance by,
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: say,
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: the FBI.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, and she was front and center at anti-Taiwan rallies.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_02: She attended that big banquet for the 70th anniversary of the CCP at the Great Hall.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: I mean,
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: and she was apparently pretty flashy with displays of wealth that were uncommon for
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: a state government employee.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing is, you know, attending rallies in the U.S., I mean...
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: free speech, freedom to protest.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: That on its face is not a violation of the law.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: The issue comes down to, are you doing things in exchange for benefits?
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's what I mean.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't attend a rally if I were engaged in illicit behavior and working on behalf of foreign actors.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: And are you doing things in your government job where they're giving you certain
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: benefits that you're not declaring?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's a pretty cut and dry problem if you get...
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: items of value in exchange for stuff you do, and then you don't declare that.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: that is,
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's,
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: if that's really what's happened,
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: it's hard to argue that this is,
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: oh,
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: that's somehow innocent.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: you certainly have voices saying,
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: well,
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: she's only targeted because she's Chinese,
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: because it's part of,
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: sonophobia.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: I would just say that I think that the US government for several years has been
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: talking about how the PRC tries to leverage subnational relations at the governor's level,
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: the mayor's level to further its agenda.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: And again, that is what all governments try to do here.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, plenty of other allied countries do that, right?
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: But again,
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: it's different when you start sort of seeing sort of surreptitious or illicit
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: exchanges of alleged illicit exchanges of value for actions that further the PRC's agenda.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things,
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: though,
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: that also you've got in New York State in particular,
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: you've also got the New York City mayor.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: There's a bunch of investigations around him.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: The New York Times actually said there are four different investigations.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: One involves Turkey.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: There's other types of corruption.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: One apparently involves his chief liaison to the Chinese-American community in New York.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of stuff moving around here.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_02: Never a dull moment with good old Eric Adams.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: And New York makes sense though, right?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because New York has especially like Flushing's,
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Queens,
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: they have a very,
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: very large population of Chinese and Chinese Americans.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so on the one hand,
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: you're a New York politician and you're either representing the state or those districts,
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: those are your consistencies.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to deal with that constituency.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: On the other hand,
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think you have to be careful about understanding who you're dealing with,
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: what are these organizations?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: And frankly, I think one of the challenges that comes up is
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Who is staffing these people?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Who are the community liaisons who maybe are joining campaigns or trying to join these administrations?
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: And they see the ability to get other benefits because,
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: because of example,
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: what we see with Linda Sun.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's a very, very difficult problem.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: The fact is, is that U.S.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: government and media and the investigators have to be really careful to paint this
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: with a much broader brush and say,
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: like,
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: it's a problem everywhere.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's a very, very individualized problem.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's something that, you know, the U.S.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: government has been briefing and we can link to this.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's a briefing from the director of national intelligence that sort of
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: talks about subnational efforts by the Chinese.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, these are these should be known issues by local governments and local government officials.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so it is, I think, quite surprising.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's not surprising they're trying to do this,
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: but it will be surprising if more local officials aren't aware of what's going on a
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: little bit more careful in sort of how they,
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: for example,
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: local officials probably shouldn't be appearing as like honorary chairperson of a
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: organization that,
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: for example,
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: is pretty obviously tied to the United Front.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, and it's a difficult problem.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_02: I mean,
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_02: my honest reaction in the moment when I started reading this news after we finished
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: recording last week was,
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_02: this isn't surprising.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: There was a spate of similar stories coming out of Canada last year, for example.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: The PRC has been pretty active in lots of different countries.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is the playbook.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_02: But all this behavior on the PRC's part just invites an environment of paranoia in
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: the United States that can feel very un-American sometimes,
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_02: but is also maybe unavoidable if China is going to aggressively cultivate sources
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: throughout private and public life.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: And it's all very depressing.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: No, it is very depressing and it's very difficult.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the problems is that,
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: on the PRC government side,
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think in some ways they see benefit from creating this kind of paranoia because
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: it's it ties into this message of,
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: sort of the motherland will help you.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's like it undermines Western values.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's a really, really hard problem.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's why, again, the indictment is pretty damning.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: It is an indictment.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Linda's son and her husband are innocent until proven guilty.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: If the FBI,
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: if the Department of Justice,
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: they're going to charge people like this and make a big public deal about it,
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: I really hope they have the case nailed.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because we saw under the China initiative, there were a bunch of many...
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Several professors whose careers were basically destroyed after allegations or
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: indictments has then turned out to basically be BS.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: so these are these are this is a really hard problem,
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: but it's also the height of naivete to say,
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: oh,
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: we can't do anything because.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's too paranoid because the Chinese government is actively trying to find these
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: points to influence the U.S.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: system at multiple levels.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: No, I mean, that's a fact.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_02: A story like this is a reminder that the scale of PRC influence efforts is really
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_02: difficult for normal Americans to even appreciate,
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: whether it's happening in corporate America or at the state government level or in
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_02: the lobbying sphere.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_02: Like the efforts are pretty comprehensive and it's
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: almost more difficult to focus on a response because it feels like a never-ending
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: game of whack-a-mole where there's a different story every week.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so it's a difficult problem to solve.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: It's like that old saying about an elephant where you can't actually see an
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: elephant if you're standing too close to it.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: You'll just see different parts.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_02: And this is a story that sort of prompts a step back and it's like, wow.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean,
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_02: in terms of the subnational influence efforts,
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_02: strategically speaking,
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_02: what do the PRC leaders think that achieves?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: Like what's the logic there?
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: in this case,
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: part of it is,
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: you want to try and block any sort of bills or actions that would harm PRC interests.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: In this case,
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: it sounds like most or all of the allegations were really related to Taiwan and
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: making sure,
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: like,
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: the governor didn't attend events related to Taiwan.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: one thing that will be interesting,
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: right,
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: because we are now coming up,
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: we're recording on September 10th.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: October 1st is the 75th anniversary of the founding of the PRC.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: So there'll be some big celebrations.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: I just got invited to the PRC embassy celebration here in D.C.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: I can't attend.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: We can be out of town.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: But then the Taiwan Republic of China National Day is double 10, October 10th.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so one of these I think you might see is the Taiwan diplomats,
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: the quote unquote diplomats here in the U.S.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: at their various rep offices around the country.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: this is an opportunity for them for them to very aggressively invite local leaders
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: and governors and mayors to their celebrations.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then if any,
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: they don't show up,
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure they can find friends in the media and say,
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: well,
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: gee,
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: so-and-so didn't show up.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: I wonder why.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so in some ways,
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: this kind of,
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: the Taiwan,
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't be surprised if you see the Taiwan side use this at least to their sort
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: of PR advantage in the next month.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, it's true.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Taiwan is an important part of the U.S.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of America's biggest trade partners.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's obviously got technological ties.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: There's a large Taiwanese-American community in the U.S.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it is an important constituency in a lot of states and cities.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: You look at California, you look at Seattle, New York.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it matters.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: It is it is kind of kind of ridiculous that someone would attend a like a mayor or
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: governor would attend a PRC Day National Day celebration,
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: but then refuse to go to,
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: say,
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: for example,
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Taiwan National Day celebration if they were invited.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: Well said.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: And I agree.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_02: The other question that I have coming out of this is what sort of options does the U.S.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_02: government have to respond to a specific incident like this?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: Like in this case, there was talk of expelling the Chinese consul general in New York.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_02: and then there was talk from the State Department that the Chinese consul general
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_02: had left that post and hadn't been expelled.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: Kathy Hochul had said she had requested that the Chinese consul general be expelled.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_02: Where do things stand on that front, and what other options does the government have, the U.S.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_02: government, to respond?
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well, expelling a consul general is a pretty significant move diplomatically, and that would invite...
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Retribution.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: A reciprocal response,
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think,
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: from the PRC or any other government whose consulate general you expelled.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I think at this point,
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: one,
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: I just I don't think it's something the Biden administration wants to have to deal
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: with right now.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, whether or not what is alleged in the indictment, you know, the sort of.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: what the consul general was doing,
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: whether or not that even rises to the level of expulsion versus he's just doing his
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: job and he found somebody who was willing to help him do it in the New York state government.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't know.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: I think what's kind of interesting,
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: though,
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: is how there's this muddled messaging where the New York governor said she talked
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: to some of the State Department said,
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: yeah,
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: they'll expel him.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: The State Department spokesman then came out and corrected said, no, no, he's termed out in August.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: He's, you know, he's going home.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: And yet he's still in his post.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking,
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: as of the night of the September 6th,
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: he was speaking at a China Institute gala in New York.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Still in Manhattan.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: OK, we still it's still Manhattan.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: He's still being identified as the consul general on the consul general of the PRCs
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: in New York's website.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not clear what really is going on.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: The last time, you know, in the Trump administration, I think it was in 2000.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was 2020.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was 2019.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: The US closed the Houston consulate.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: And then in response, the PRC closed... Was it the Chengdu consulate?
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Correct me if I'm wrong.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: I should know this.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: My brain is a little scattered.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: What's interesting is the consul general of the Houston consulate,
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: when it was closed,
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: a gentleman named Tai Wei,
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: he is now the lead at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: the lead person for contact with the US diplomats.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: A friendly face.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's great.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: No demotion for the Houston Consulate.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_02: And that is the end of the free preview.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: If you'd like to hear the rest of today's conversation and get access to full
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_02: episodes of Sharp China each week,
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_02: you can go to your show notes and subscribe to either Bill's newsletter,
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_02: Cynicism,
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_02: or the Stratechery bundle,
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_02: which includes several other podcasts from me and daily writing from my friend Ben Thompson.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: I'm an incredibly biased news consumer, so I think both are indispensable resources.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: But either way,
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_02: Bill and I are going to be here every week talking all things China,
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: and we would love to have you on board.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_02: So check out your show notes, subscribe, and we will talk to you soon.