Association for the Restoration of Vietnam

the first political organization in Vietnam; it existed from 1904 to 1912. Founded in Quang Nam Province (central Vietnam) by the revolutionary democrat Phan Boi Chau, the organization sought to expel the French colonialists from Vietnam by organizing a revolt with the help of Japan and to establish a constitutional monarchy. Phan Boi Chau and other leaders of the association established contact with Japanese and Chinese reformers and organized the sending of progressive young people to Japan for study. In June 1908 a group headed by Phan Boi Chau, working with detachments led by the peasant leader De Tham, made plans to capture Hanoi and unsuccessfully attempted to poison the French garrison in the city. The organization disintegrated as a result of the persecution of the colonial authorities.