Phan Khôi

Phan Khôi (August 20, 1887 (Đinh Hợi) Bảo An village, Điện Bàn county, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam – January 16, 1959, Hanoi, North Vietnam) was an intellectual leader who inspired a North Vietnamese variety of the Chinese Hundred Flowers Campaign, in which scholars were permitted to criticize the Communist regime, but for which he himself was ultimately persecuted by the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Phan Khôi was born to an elite family. His father was "Phó Bảng" Phan Trân (1826–1935) who was the son of Judge Phan Nhu. His mother was Hoàng Thị Lệ (1826–1882) who was the daughter of Governor Hoàng Diệu. Phan Khôi learned Chinese characters from a young age and was very well read. He read many progressive writings and developed a belief in civil rights and a new society.

In 1906, he joined the Progressive Movement (Duy Tân) led by Phan Chu Trinh (1872–1926), Huỳnh Thúc Kháng (1876–1947) and Trần Quý Cáp (1870–1906). Phan Khôi moved to Hanoi to learn French and Quốc ngữ (Vietnamese written in the Latin alphabets).

In 1907, he joined the "Đông Kinh Nghĩa Thục" school, founded by Phan Chu Trinh with the help of Phan Bội Châu in teaching materials. Then in 1908 the French cracked down on Progressive Movement, they captured all members, executed the leaders and imprisoned others. Phan Khôi was sent back to prison in Điện Bàn. In 1909, being pardoned by the French, he went to Huê and studied at the Pellerin School (1909–11).

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