Many people might currently feel disillusioned with the state of British politics.
Following a lackluster period under Labour leadership, a series of anti-Semitic incidents, and the emergence of more radical parties like the Green Party and Reform, it might seem tempting to dismiss the importance of participating in today’s local elections.
However, the significance of democracy is something Timothy Cho deeply appreciates.
Having escaped from North Korea twice and endured imprisonment and torture in China, Mr. Cho is now a candidate for a Conservative council seat in Stockport, Greater Manchester.
“I acknowledge that Britain is not perfect, but it is one of the best countries I have come to. Arriving with nothing, I was welcomed warmly and given a second chance,” Mr. Cho shared with the Daily Mail.
His remarkable journey casts local political disputes in a different light, as he highlights polarization as one of the most pressing issues facing both politics and society today.
Born in the North Korean dictatorship, it was not until the age of 17, and multiple escape attempts, that Mr Cho was freed for good.
Aged nine, he returned home from school one day to find that his parents, both high school teachers, had fled the country.
Timothy Cho (pictured) is running as a Conservative in the Stockport local elections
Since arriving in the UK, Mr Cho (right) received a BA in International Relations and Politics from the University of Salford and an MA in International Relations and Security from the University of Liverpool (pictured with James Cleverly)
Timothy Cho (pictured) escaped from North Korea twice and imprisonment in China four times, before eventually making it to the UK in 2008
Labelled a ‘son of a traitor’, Mr Cho was put in the enemy class and was rejected from the compulsory army training. An outcast, he decided that he had to try and leave the country.
‘My first journey trying to escape across the border did not go well,’ he said.
‘Eighteen of us at the Mongolian border tried to cross but we were all arrested by China’s military.’
The group were moved from prison to prison before they were eventually deported back to North Korea and imprisoned – where Mr Cho saw things he ‘will never forget’.
He witnessed children being stabbed to death, a man being tortured, and was forced to watch a public execution – with the children made to sit in the front row.
The experience was a turning point. Mr Cho told the Mail: ‘Being in a prison cell in North Korea was one of the reasons why I later determined to become a human rights activist, for those still left behind in North Korea.’
After being tortured himself and the only survivor of the group he had tried to escape with, Mr Cho said he was barely able to walk as he made the journey to his grandparents’ house.
On his second attempt, through a friend of his grandmother, he managed to escape across the border to China with nine others. They arrived at an American school in Shanghai, where they were again arrested by the Chinese police and sent to an international prison.
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Timothy said he is ‘very, very proud’ to now call the UK his home and has two children and a family here
Pictured: Timothy Cho on the campaign trail. The Conservative candidate said he had received ‘warm welcomes’ while out doorstepping
Expecting to be deported back once more to North Korea, where he was bound to die, Mr Cho said he was told by another inmate to pray to God now, if there was one.
It was his fourth imprisonment by the age of 17. Mr Cho said that at that moment, he was ‘kneeling and praying to this “God” I didn’t even know, desperately promising that if he gave me freedom I would give my life to him.’
By some miracle, the Chinese government made the ‘very unusual and rare’ decision to deport them to the Philippines – all thanks to a 14-year-old girl in the Shanghai school they happened to arrive at.
She had written a letter to the western press after watching their arrests and pleas, which in turn produced a human rights storm as the international media, including the BBC and CNN, aired their arrests and put pressure on China for their release.
Mr Cho’s incredible story of survival led him to the UK after he chose the country when asked where he wanted to go in the Philippines, and he arrived here in 2008.
He said: ‘This was, I thought, the end of my suffering, but also it was the beginning of a new journey.
‘I started learning English and got my GCSEs and A-levels and then on to university, where I studied politics. This was all only possible because of the democratic platform the journalists used in the West, and the opportunities I was given when I arrived here.’
Mr Cho, who believes he is now aged around 37 and has two children and a family of his own, got involved with politics unexpectedly when he applied after getting a degree in politics to work in parliament for Fiona Bruce, the former Conservative MP for Congleton.
‘Yes, I recognise that Britain is not a perfect country, but it is one of the finest countries that someone like me has come to, with empty hands, and been met with a warm welcome and given a second chance,’ Mr Cho told the Daily Mail
He then got involved in local democracy and said how he lauded the UK’s system after his experience of so-called ‘democracy’ in North Korea – where ‘you get imprisoned if you don’t tick the one box for one candidate and put it in a guarded box’.
Since both his parents were history teachers, and his political heroes are Churchill and William Wilberforce (both ‘had faith in their darkest hour’), Mr Cho said the Conservative Party appealed because of its conservatism of institutions and values, adding that it has ‘revitalised, reformed, and reintroduced itself’ again and again.
Now running as a Conservative for the Stockport seat, which is currently a Labour ward, Mr Cho said: ‘Democracy is meant to be many different views being recognised, so that we continue to develop and progress forward.’
Despite the many issues facing the British electorate and the political system today, Mr Cho still has an enduring faith in the UK’s democracy – and urges everyone, regardless of party, to turn out and vote today. ‘People died for the vote’, he adds simply.
And despite the fact that extremist views and groups are on the rise and minorities like the Jewish community are under attack, Mr Cho’s experience of local politics is a reminder that not all is bleak in British politics yet.
‘On Tuesday, I was out doorstepping when I bumped into my political opponent – Jo Williams, the Labour candidate, in the street,’ he said.
‘We had a very fun, lovely conversation in which Jo said she had heard from her supporters about me, and said I was in the wrong Party!
‘I said to her: “Good luck on Thursday, whatever result we see, we deserve applause from each other as well as the other residents”.
‘People who are traditional Labour voters have said they feel guilty voting Labour after hearing about my story, and have been so warm and welcoming when I go out doorstepping.’
Acknowledging the rise of extremes on the Left and the Right, Mr Cho said: ‘This is a very challenging time not only for the UK, but for the world.
‘Everyday prices are going up, we have a fuel crisis, people feel so polarised, but I hope that this local election will give the public positive stories and feedback.’
Asked what his message is for voters unsure of turning out today, Mr Cho said: ‘My message, especially for younger people, is that every generation have 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 give a message to the politicians – each vote is significant.
‘And if I am elected, I will serve my community with love.’
