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.
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military