Many may be disillusioned with the current state of British politics.
It would be simple to conclude that voting in today’s local elections is pointless following a dismal Labour leadership, a wave of anti-Semitic incidents, and the emergence of radicals like the Green Party and Reform.
However, Timothy Cho never loses sight of the importance of democracy.
Mr. Cho is currently a candidate for the Conservative council seat in Stockport, Greater Manchester, following two escapes from North Korea, imprisonment in China, and torture by the regimes.
“Yes, I acknowledge that Britain isn’t perfect, but it’s one of the best countries where someone like me has come with nothing and been welcomed and given another chance,” Mr. Cho told the Daily Mail.
As he discussed how polarisation is one of the main problems confronting politics and society today, his tale of survival puts the trivial local council disputes into perspective.
Mr. Cho was born into a dictatorship in North Korea and was not set free until he was 17 years old and had made several efforts to flee.
One day, when he was nine years old, he came home from school to discover that his parents, who were both high school teachers, had left the nation.
In the Stockport local elections, Timothy Cho (pictured) is a Conservative candidate.
Since coming to the UK, Mr. Cho (right) has earned an MA in International Relations and Security from the University of Liverpool (seen with James Cleverly) and a BA in International Relations and Politics from the University of Salford.
Before arriving in the UK in 2008, Timothy Cho (pictured) managed to flee North Korea twice and China four times.
Mr. Cho was denied from the mandatory army training and placed in the enemy class after being called a “son of a traitor.” As an outsider, he felt compelled to attempt to flee the nation.
“My initial attempt to flee across the border did not go well,” he remarked.
“The Chinese military arrested all eighteen of us when we attempted to cross the Mongolian border.”
Before being deported back to North Korea and imprisoned there, the group was transferred from prison to prison, where Mr. Cho witnessed horrors he “will never forget.”
He saw a man being tortured, children being stabbed to death, and a public execution where the kids were made to sit in the front row.
It was a pivotal moment. “Being in a prison cell in North Korea was one of the reasons I later determined to become a human rights activist, for those still left behind in North Korea,” Mr. Cho told the Mail.
Mr. Cho claimed he was hardly able to walk as he travelled to his grandparents’ home after being tortured himself and the lone survivor of the group he had attempted to flee with.
On his second attempt, he and nine other people were able to cross the border into China thanks to a friend of his grandma. When they got to an American school in Shanghai, the Chinese police grabbed them once more and put them to an international prison.
What does Timothy Cho’s journey reveal about the actual worth of democracy in modern-day Britain?
Timothy stated that he is “very, very proud” to have two kids and a family in the UK.
Timothy Cho on the campaign road is seen. The Conservative candidate claimed that when out doorstepping, he was met with “warm welcomes.”
Mr. Cho claimed that another prisoner advised him to pray to God right away, if there was one, since he anticipated being deported back to North Korea, where he would undoubtedly perish.
By the time he was seventeen, it was his fourth incarceration. According to Mr. Cho, he was ‘kneeling and pleading to this “God” I didn’t even know, urgently pledging that if he gave me freedom I would sacrifice my life to him.’
Thanks to a 14-year-old girl at the Shanghai school they occurred to arrive at, the Chinese government somehow decided to deport them to the Philippines.
After seeing their arrests and appeals, she wrote a letter to the western media, which sparked a human rights frenzy as the BBC and CNN, among other international media outlets, reported on their detentions and exerted pressure on China to free them.
When asked where he wanted to go in the Philippines, Mr. Cho chose the UK, and his amazing survival story brought him here in 2008.
“I thought this was the end of my suffering, but it was also the beginning of a new journey,” he stated.
After completing my GCSEs and A-levels in English, I went on to study politics at university. All of this was only made possible by the democratic platform that Western journalists employed and the opportunities I was given upon my arrival.
Mr. Cho, who thinks he is now about 37 years old, has two kids, and a family of his own, unexpectedly became interested in politics when he sought to work in parliament for Fiona Bruce, the former Congleton Conservative MP, after receiving a degree in politics.
Mr. Cho told the Daily Mail, “Yes, I acknowledge that Britain is not a perfect country, but it is one of the best countries that someone like me has come to, with empty hands, and been met with a warm welcome and given a second chance.”
After that, he became interested in local democracy and expressed his admiration for the UK system in light of his experience with North Korea’s “democracy,” where “you get imprisoned if you don’t tick the one box for one candidate and put it in a guarded box.”
Given that both of his parents were history teachers and that Churchill and William Wilberforce were his political heroes—both of whom “had faith in their darkest hour”—Mr. Cho claimed that the Conservative Party’s conservatism of institutions and values made it appealing, adding that it has repeatedly “revitalised, reformed, and reintroduced itself.”
“Democracy is meant to be many different views being recognised, so that we continue to develop and progress forward,” stated Mr. Cho, who is currently running as a Conservative for the Stockport seat, which is presently a Labour ward.
Mr. Cho continues to have faith in the UK’s democracy despite the numerous problems that the country’s voters and political system are currently confronting. He calls on everyone, regardless of party, to cast a ballot today. Simply put, “People died for the vote,” he continues.
Furthermore, Mr. Cho’s experience with local politics serves as a warning that things are not yet dire in British politics, even though radical ideologies and organisations are becoming more prevalent and minorities like the Jewish community are being targeted.
“I ran into my political rival, Jo Williams, the Labour candidate, in the street on Tuesday while I was out doorstepping,” he stated.
“Good luck on Thursday, whatever result we see, we deserve applause from each other as well as the other residents,” I said Jo after we had a really pleasant and enjoyable talk in which she mentioned that she had heard about me from her fans and that I was in the wrong Party.
“After hearing about my story, people who are traditional Labour voters have said they feel guilty voting Labour, and they have been so warm and welcoming when I go out doorstepping.”
“This is a very challenging time not only for the UK, but for the world,” Mr. Cho stated, acknowledging the growth of extremism on both the Left and the Right.
“I hope that this local election will give the public positive stories and feedback, but everyday prices are rising, we have a fuel crisis, and people feel so polarised.”
Mr. Cho responded, “My message, especially for younger people, is that every generation has their own time to fight, and I encourage them to use their vote. They have a choice and that is how we express our voice on what is going on locally, internationally, and nationally.” It will convey to the politicians that every vote matters. “And if I am elected, I will serve my community with love.”
