ew York Gov. Kathy Hochul had an alleged Chinese spy working in her office for nearly a decade before anyone noticed. Unfortunately, there are likely many more. The media’s acting shocked this morning that former deputy chief of staff Linda Sun was charged with aiding Chinese officials and altering official documents all while enriching herself. Yet this is nothing new.

High-profile stories of Chinese espionage pop up a few times a year in the military, in the tech sector, and in academia. Who could forget how California Rep. Eric Swalwell allegedly got caught shtupping a Chinese spy named Fang Fang? Ian Fleming couldn’t have written it better himself. But this is all just the tip of the iceberg. The sabotage likely runs deeper than anyone would like to admit — particularly anyone in the halls of the U.S. bureaucracy. The “Washington Consensus” on China is go-along-to-get-along. High-minded schmucks will talk about the “Thucydides Trap” — how accommodating China’s rise is the “strategic” choice for continuous “economic growth” and “peaceful international relations.” But it’s a load of hogwash; they’re all too feckless to confront a real rival and are perfectly happy to indulge their utopian dreams of global governance as long they, personally, don’t have to pay a price.

So if China’s caught spying, the default reaction is: eh, why rock the boat? The alleged spy in Hochul’s office was there for nearly a decade. How many opportunities to catch her missed because people with suspicions turned the other way? How many more Linda Suns remain active today, enjoying the same ideological benefit? Unfortunately, we’ll likely never know.

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