Gilbert Trần Chánh Chiếu

Gilbert Trần Chánh Chiếu

Gilbert Trần Chánh Chiếu (1868-1919) was a Vietnamese independence activist and the subject of "l'Affaire Gilbert Chieu". He used his French citizenship and his position as hotel owner, businessman, editor of the Saigon Quốc Ngữ newspaper Lục Tỉnh Tân Văn and the French version Le Moniteur des Provinces, as well as being one of the first attorneys at law in Saigon,^[1] to cover for the fact that he was in fact an agent of the Duy Tân Hội society based in Japan and led by Vietnamese revolutionaries Phan Bội Châu and Prince Cường Để.^[2][3] At the end of October 1908, a series of 40 arrests was made, including Chieu himself, but at trial evidence proved insufficient to convict.^[4]

References

1. Oscar Chapuis The Last Emperors of Vietnam: From Tu Duc to Bao Dai - Page 124 2000 - 185 pages "Gilbert Tran Chanh Chieu Gilbert Chieu was what the French called a "transfuge." By his French citizenship and his position as one of the first attorneys at law in Saigon he, instead of siding with Bui Quang Chieu, followed a different path."
2. Philippe M. F. Peycam The Birth of Vietnamese Political Journalism: Saigon, 1916-1930 - Page 56 2012 "During Chiêu's trial, the French discovered that he had been a central agent for an underground movement called the Association for the Modernization of Vietnam (Việt Nam Duy Tân Hội), based in Japan and led by Châu and Prince Cường Để..."
3. Tran My-Van A Vietnamese Royal Exile in Japan: Prince Cuong De, 1882-1951 - Page 264 2005
4. Pre-communist Indochina Ralph Bernard Smith, Beryl Williams - 2009 "Finally, towards the end of October, a whole series of arrests was made, including that of Tran Chanh Chieu himself, and also a ... But when it came to a trial, it was difficult for the French to convict Gilbert Chieu even on the evidence they had."