Phan Bội Châu

Phan Bội Châu (26 December 1867 – 29 October 1940) was a pioneer of Vietnamese 20th century nationalism. In 1903, he formed a revolutionary organization called the “Reformation Society” (Duy Tân hội). From 1905 to 1908, he lived in Japan where he wrote political tracts calling for the independence of Vietnam from French colonial rule. After being forced to leave Japan, he moved to China where he was influenced by Sun Yat-sen. He formed a new group called the “Vietnamese Restoration League” (Việt Nam Quang Phục Hội), modeled after Sun Yat-sen's republican party. In 1925, French agents seized him in Shanghai. He was convicted of treason and spent the rest of his life under house arrest in Huế.