Background
Short was born to working class Anglican parents in Barmera, South Australia.
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John Short
Edit Profile苏约翰, 蘇約翰
Education
As a child, he attended Sunday School at church. He attended the Adelaide Boys High School and graduated from the Royal Adelaide Dental Hospital as a dental technician.
Career
In 1962, he joined the staff of the Adelaide Young Men’s Christian Association and worked there until his departure in 1964. 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.
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, 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.
Short first visited North of 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 of Korea for a second time. His arrest was first reported on 18 February.
On 3 March 2014, the Korean Central News Agency aired footage of Short writing and reciting a statement apologizing for his actions in North of Korea.
Short was released later that same day. He subsequently said that he had been "interrogated daily" during his detention in North of Korea.
