How countries like China and Russia recruit, reward and punish spies

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The arrest of Linda Sun, a Chinese spy who worked her way into an influential position in the office of Governor Kathy Hochul shows how easily devious and well-hidden threats from adversaries can be hiding in plain sight.

“New York City is alive with spies,” James Olson, former chief of counterintelligence at the Central Intelligence Agency and author of “To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence,” told The Post.

“It is a spy hub. Many corporations are headquartered there and the United Nations, as well as the various consulates. They all provide good vehicles for planting spies.”

Linda Sun and husband Christopher Hu are said to have recieved millions from China’s communist government Paul Martinka

Though things unraveled for Sun after she was questioned about a trip to China and her garnering of official proclamations, Olson says it raises worries for other spies – who rarely know the identities of who works alongside them, beyond their own handler.

“There may be a penetration. There may be a source inside [who is spying on the spies]. All the Chinese spies are shaking in their boots right now,” he added.

While China is the nation sending the most spies to the US, Russia is number two, according to Olson. He also reports Iran — which has been accused of hacking into the presidential campaign of Donald Trump as well as that of Kamala Harris — and Cuba hover close behind.

“Cuba is absolutely fixated on the United States,” he said. “But the Cubans don’t pay what the Chinese do. They don’t have the same resources.”

Sun is alleged to have received millions of dollars in benefits from the Chinese government, to the point that she drove a 2024 Ferrari, owned a $4.1 Manhasset mansion and a $2 million luxury condo in Honolulu.

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping lead countries that are said to be the first and second most prolific providers of spies against the United States. POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Sun, 41, and her husband Christopher Hu, 40, now face charges of violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy, according to an indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court. They have both pleaded not guilty.

As Olson sees it, Sun’s pay was warranted. “The Chinese probably viewed her as a star asset who could whitewash China’s objectives and stiff-arm Taiwan,” he said, adding that her state-sponsored trips to China are evidence of her value.

“That is where she would be wined and dined. They prefer to handle spies in the safety of China. It’s where her tasking would be given.”

Olson told The Post not all countries pay their super snoopers equally. “Russia goes on the cheap wherever they can,” said Olson. “Most of the Russian spies are underpaid by international standards.”

Former CIA analyst Sue Mi Terry stands accused of spying on behalf of South Korea — in exchange for designer finery. REUTERS

Others get caught up out for even less. In July, a former CIA analyst, Sue Mi Terry, was indicted for allegedly spying for South Korea in exchange for designer handbags, Michelin star meals and $37,000 paid into a fund she controlled. Her lawyer claims the charges are “unfounded” and the feds have “made a significant mistake” with the charges, according to The Hill.

That said, for a small minority, it goes beyond money: “When people are spying out of ideology, countries think they can get by more cheaply.”

Even so, he added, a spy with the right ins – such as Terry alleged was – should be able to command significant compensation.

James Olson, former CIA agent and book author, told The Post that “Chinese spies are shaking in their boots.”

Spies for foreign countries often don’t know who they are working with beyond their own handler Brian Jackson – stock.adobe.com

“If you have access inside the CIA or the FBI or the State Department, that could get you a hefty paycheck. It would easily be in the six figures.”

Does he think any Russians can be earning $1 million or more? “I don’t think that’s likely. Aldrich Ames made that much, but he was giving up the identities of Russians working for the CIA. So, he was a special case.” Ames was busted in 1994 and is currently serving a life sentence.

More generally, he added, “The most valuable spies would be those providing Russia with information on controlled technology … For Iran, the task would probably be to find support for political positions.”

According to Olson, “they would love to” have a spy who could influence “the revival of the nuclear agreement that Trump killed.”

Asked if he thought the Iranians had spies inside the State Department or White House, Olson replied, “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Ted Cruz agrees. Last year, he alleged that there are, describing it as “one of the greatest national security scandals.”

Whatever nation a spy works for, payment tends to be commensurate with chances taken. “If you get caught, you go to jail,” said Olson. “They want to be compensated for their risk. They squeeze every bit out.”

Even the financially stretched Cuba, according to Olson, had to cough up big bucks for Manuel Rocha, the turncoat who had been a US ambassador.

An FBI mugshot of American former CIA counterintelligence officer and Soviet spy Aldrich Ames, taken February 1994. Jeffrey Markowitz

Consulates such as this one, according to James Olson, are “good vehicles for planting spies.” Getty Images

“For 40 years he worked for Cuban intelligence from inside the US State Department,” said Olsen of the man who was sentenced to 15 years in prison last year. “They paid him lavishly.”

For the typical recruitment process, China’s intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security, will initiate contact via a person who has ties to a target’s previous life back home, said H. Keith Melton, co-author of “Spy Sites of New York City” and a historical consultant to the CIA.

“They invite the [recruit] for dinner, maybe take him to the opera and eventually ask him to do one gray thing for the good of China,” he said.

Olson explained: “People are convinced that what they are doing will not be harmful to US interests — even though, of course, it is. China has multiple spies working on a particular project. So [an agent] may be getting small pieces of information, which seem inconsequential, but are part of a larger plan.”

If money and Nanjing-style salted duck prepared by a government official’s private chef — one of the perks allegedly extended to Sun — do not draw nationals to spy for their motherland, repercussions may be deployed.

If accused spy Linda Sun rolls over on her motherland, predicted James Olson, “the Chinese will be very angry.” Getty Images

Dennis Wilder, former National Security Council director for China, told Politico Beijing’s methods of coercion for those reluctant to spy includes the possibility of punishing innocent kin who still live in China.

“They certainly would make it clear that benefits would be taken away,” Olson said. “Most people comply because it is a police state. You want to comply. The threat is usually enough to win the person over.”

As for the repercussions hammered out against spies who are caught, Olson said that the governments tend to be understanding – “They’ll be unhappy, but they will hire expensive lawyers and cover their tracks” – unless the spies go rogue on them.

“If [Sun] gets turned, the Chinese will be very angry,” he said. “They could take it out on the family. I’m sure they’re doing an investigation right now, looking into how the Americans found out.”

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