The administration of New York Governor Kathy Hochul assigned a senior state government official to participate in back-channel talks led by a Chinese Communist Party bureau allegedly involved in espionage and co-opting foreign political leaders. This individual was slated to deliver remarks on a Zoom call on October 19, 2023 with the CCP’s International Department and several Chinese officials linked to the Party’s political influence organs, according to emails and documents obtained by National Review under a public records disclosure law. Hochul’s then-director of Asian Affairs, Elaine Fan, coordinated the official’s participation. The official was only referred to as a...