Hem Chieu

Who was Hem Chieu?

Hem Chieu was a Buddhist monk and a prominent figure in the development of Cambodian nationalism.

Chieu was a professor at the Higher School of Pali in Phnom Penh, and strongly objected to attempts by the French colonial authorities, beginning in the late 1930s, to romanize the Khmer writing system. Although the reforms were not intended to be applied to religious texts, he began to make vocal criticisms of the French administration. He became associated with two nationalist activists, Son Ngoc Thanh and Pach Chheoun, editor and founder of a pro-independence Khmer-language newspaper, Nagaravatta. The French authorities believed that Thanh, Chieu and Chheoun, with Japanese backing, were attempting to recruit followers for a bid for independence from the French.