Malloy discusses China trip, phone call abruptly ends when talk turns to security

Hartford – An unexplained break in the line this morning during Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's long-distance conference call from China to Connecticut news reporters left some wondering if the line was intentionally cut by authorities there.

Malloy, who is in Tianjin, China until Sept. 16 for the World Economic Forum Summit, was giving an update on his efforts to drum up business and investment opportunities for Connecticut companies.

About 25 minutes into the call, a reporter asked the governor if he noticed any "extra security" around Americans in China.

Malloy replied that there is "a lot of security around" when suddenly his end of the line went dead.

Reporters on the call heard the governor's staff in Connecticut trying to sort out what happened.

"I have a feeling someone may have heard that and blocked the call," speculated Roy Occhiogrosso, the governor's senior adviser. "I think that's what happened, we'll see."

Malloy was patched back in several minutes later. He gave an answer to the "security" question, but in relation to the current Libyan situation.

"The last question was about security," Malloy said. "The bottom line is I don't see increases as a result of the Libyan situation."

The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three embassy staff were killed Tuesday night in Libya.

Malloy's spokesman Andrew Doba said after the conference call that they have no explanation yet for the line break.

Catherine Smith, commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, is joining the governor. Their trip is being paid by the state and is expected to cost about $20,000.