Sun An-tso (孫安佐), the son of Taiwanese celebrities Sun Peng (孫鵬) and Di Ying (狄鶯), is to be deported and permanently barred from the US for possessing firearms, a federal district court in Pennsylvania ruled on Monday.
Sun An-tso, who was arrested in March after threatening to shoot up his school, is expected to be deported within four to six weeks.
In a sentencing hearing at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the 18-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of being an alien in possession of ammunition in contravention of 18 US Code 922 (g).
Photo: AP
He was sentenced to time served, about five-and-a-half months, and required to forfeit the ammunition in his possession, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in a statement.
Judge Nitza Quinones Alejandro ordered the teen be transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and removed from the US, the statement said.
“Under federal law, today’s conviction will operate as a permanent bar to re-entry to the United States,” it said.
During the hearing, Sun An-tso apologized for the trouble he had caused his parents, the US and Taiwan.
However, the judge interrupted his statement, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“The word is not trouble for what you’ve brought to your family,” the paper quoted Quinones as saying. “You have brought them shame, which is an even higher offense.”
Sun Peng and Di Ying attended the hearing.
Sun Peng pleaded for mercy for his son and apologized for the disturbance caused by the case to US society, and asked Quinones to give him a chance to rebuild his family and educate his son properly.
Quinones told the parents not to feel shame for their son’s mistake, saying that the incident was mainly the result of the boy’s immaturity and lack of understanding of the severity of verbal threats.
Sun An-tso was arrested on March 26 and charged with making terroristic threats after he threatened to carry out a mass shooting on May 1 at Bonner and Prendergast Catholic High School in Delaware, Pennsylvania.
He said he was only joking when he talked about shooting up the school.
Sun An-tso on June 4 pleaded guilty to making terrorist threats against the school and was sentenced to four to 23 months’ incarceration, with immediate parole and credit for time served.
He was released into ICE custody the following day and charged federally for being an alien in possession of ammunition.
He entered a guilty plea to the federal charge on Aug. 28.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting