Asia-Pacific
Accused Chinese grad student to be allowed to return home
By Chen Weihua (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-31 11:23
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NEW YORK - Zhai Tiantian, a former doctoral student at the New Jersey-based Stevens Institute of Technology who was previously charged with making a "terroristic threat", has been allowed to voluntarily leave the US within the next 30 days under a ruling made by the judge at the Elizabeth Immigration Court on Thursday morning.
"This means that Zhai can choose to depart the US anytime from today," Zhai's lawyer Hai Ming told China Daily.
Unlike the deportation Zhai was facing earlier, which will bar him from re-entering the country for 10 years, if he voluntarily departs within the time ordered by the court, he will not be barred from legally re-entering in the future.
Also unlike deportation, Zhai must pay for his own airfare. His lawyer said he is helping to arrange an air ticket and Zhai is most likely to return to China in mid-August.
Zhai is satisfied with the outcome, Hai said. He no longer has hatred for Stevens as he did earlier and he no longer plans to sue the school. His only regret is that he could not hold a farewell party with friends, he quoted Zhai as saying.
Before the voluntary departure, Zhai still has to stay in the Elizabeth Detention Center. Hai explained to the federal judge, Mirlande Tadal, that he was worried that Zhai was young and hot-blooded and may cause unnecessary trouble before his departure. The judge also wished Zhai to become more mature after this and he welcomed Zhai to come back to the US in the future, according to Hai.
With no farewell party in sight, the only place Zhai can say goodbye to his friends seem to be either at the immigration prison or airport upon his departure.
The 26-year Zhai still hopes to come back to the US one day. He has deep feeling for the country, where he has stayed since he was 18-year-old, according to Zhai.
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Zhai first arrived in the US in 2003 and completed both his bachelor and Master's degrees at Stevens. He was pursuing his doctoral degree when Stevens suspended him on March 11 this year, citing a violation of the school's code of conduct.
Zhai was arrested in mid-April after the school reported to the police that he made phone calls threatening to burn down a school building, a charge Zhai has denied.
During the same period, Zhai's student visa was revoked by immigration authorities. He was also facing another charge of aggravated harassment in New York City.
But in a letter dated July 21, the New York County District Attorney's Office had decided not to prosecute Zhai for the aggravated harassment charge.
On July 28, Zhai appeared before the New Jersey Superior Court. After mediation between lawyers and the judge, the charge of making a terroristic threat, a felony, was reduced to disorderly conduct.
Under New Jersey Law, disorderly conduct carries a possible jail sentence of 30 days, up to a $500 fine, possible community service and possible probation.
Hai said he believes that the Hudson Country prosecutor's office is not going to pursue the case after the ruling by the federal immigration judge.
So far, Zhai has spent more than 100 days in two different jails.
The Stevens Institute of Technology and Leo Hurley, assistant prosecutor at the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office in charge of Zhai's case, did not respond to China Daily interview requests.
Previously, Zhai's case became an international incident, with reports widely quoted by the Chinese news media and bloggers. Some questioned whether the charge was racially motivated while others said he deserved to be punished for what he allegedly said.
The terroristic threat charge can refer to a range of verbal threats. Some Chinese media outlets initially reported that Zhai was arrested for allegedly being a terrorist.