John Alexander Short (, born 26 January 1939 in
Barmera
Barmera is a town in the Riverland region of South Australia. It is on the Sturt Highway A20, 220 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia. It is primarily an agricultural and viticultural town and is l ...
) is a Hong Kong-based Australian Christian missionary noted for his 2014 arrest in North Korea and subsequent release 15 days later.
Early life and education
Short was born to working class Anglican parents in
Barmera, South Australia
Barmera is a town in the Riverland region of South Australia. It is on the Sturt Highway A20, 220 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia. It is primarily an agricultural and viticultural town and is lo ...
. As a child, he attended Sunday School at church. He attended the
Adelaide Boys High School
Adelaide High School is a coeducational state high school situated on the corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue in the Adelaide Parklands. Following the Advanced School for Girls, it was the second government high school in South Australia ...
and graduated from the
Royal Adelaide Dental Hospital as a dental technician. In 1962, he joined the staff of the Adelaide
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
and worked there until his departure in 1964.
Work in Hong Kong
In 1964, Short moved to Hong Kong to do missionary work. He initially catered to Chinese refugees from the mainland while studying the Cantonese language in his free time. He later set up several churches in Hong Kong in the 1970s.
In 1976, while on a return visit to Australia, he met his future wife, Karen, whom he married in 1978. They had three sons, all of whom grew up in Hong Kong but now live outside Hong Kong.
After the end of the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, Short expanded his work into mainland China. He was arrested on several occasions by Chinese authorities. On one particular occasion in 1996, he was banished from mainland China for two years until 1998, when he was allowed to re-enter the mainland.
Arrest in North Korea
Short first visited North Korea in February 2013. He reportedly read his Bible and discussed his Christian faith with his government minders during that visit.
On 15 February 2014, Short visited North Korea for a second time. Originally scheduled to return to Hong Kong on 20 February, Short was arrested on 16 February after authorities discovered that he left Korean-language pamphlets on Christianity at a Buddhist temple in Pyongyang.
His arrest was first reported on 18 February.
On 3 March 2014, the
Korean Central News Agency
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onlin ...
aired footage of Short writing and reciting a statement apologizing for his actions in North Korea. Short was released later that same day. He subsequently said that he had been "interrogated daily" during his detention in North Korea.
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See also
* Merrill Newman
* Kenneth Bae
References
External links
Biography of John Short on Gospel Attract
{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, John
1939 births
Living people
2014 in North Korea
Australian Protestant missionaries
Australian expatriates in China
Australian people imprisoned abroad
Prisoners and detainees of North Korea
Protestant missionaries in China
Christian missionaries in Hong Kong
Protestant missionaries in North Korea
Australian expatriates in North Korea
Australian expatriates in Hong Kong
People educated at Adelaide High School