Phan Bội Châu (1867-1940) was a pioneer of Vietnamese 20th century nationalism. In 1903 he formed a revolutionary organization called the Reformation Society (Duy Tan Hoi).

From 1905 to 1908 he lived in Japan where he wrote political tracts calling for the liberation of Vietnam from the French colonial regime. 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 Society (Viet Nam Quang Phuc Hoi), 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 Hanoi.