Ngô Đình Khả (吳廷可, 1856–1923 but some sources state 1850–1925) was a high-ranking Catholic mandarin in the Court of the Emperor Thành Thái of Nguyễn dynasty in Huế, Vietnam.
He strongly opposed the French dominance of the Hue Court and when the French grew tired of Emperor Thành Thái's attempts to rein in their growing influence, Khả was the only member of the Council of Ministers to refuse to sign a petition requesting the emperor's abdication.
[2] However, Penang was a crucible of cultures from Vietnam to Southern China, Siam, Korea and British India.
Due to his capacity in both the Chinese Confucian Classics and in the European languages and philosophy, Emperor Thành Thái requested that Kha build and head a National Institute (Quốc Học) that would combine Eastern and Western studies.
[9] The Franco-Annamite schools were not meant as a form of assimilation but rather "an improvement of indigenous skills through relevant education".
[11] Notable graduates of the Quoc Hoc included Võ Nguyên Giáp and Phạm Văn Đồng.
[12] Ho Chi Minh also attended the school but dropped out in 1909 when his father lost his post as a district chief.
The French chargé d'affaires, Mr. Silvain Levecque was the man who wanted to bring down Emperor Thành Thái and replace him with someone more pliant.
Without his signature Levecque would be unable to claim that he had agreed to the removal of Thành Thái and this allowed Kha to write to newspapers both in Vietnam and France about what was happening with regards to the emperor.
Eventually Levecque presented the petition requesting the emperor's abdication to Thành Thái without Ngô Dinh Kha's signature.
Edward Miller writes that Ho Chi Minh himself recalled one of the proverbs, "To deport the King, you must first get rid of Kha.
"[16] The Council of Regents, presided over by Levecque sentenced Ngô Dinh Kha to be stripped of all his ranks, functions and honours.
During his episcopal ordination in 1938 as the third Vietnamese bishop, Kha's second son Ngô Đình Thục, recalled these difficult times that the family and especially his father had gone through.
Emperor Khải Định restored to Kha the title of Great Scholar Assistant to the Throne with the permanent rank of Minister.
In January 1925, a few days before Tet, Ngô Dinh Kha suddenly began to run a high fever and cough.
Upon Kha's death he left behind his wife, Anna Nguyen Thi Than, and sons, Khôi, Thuc, Diệm, Nhu, Cẩn and Luyện, and daughters, Giao, Hiep and Hoang.
Edward Miller claims that many people saw Kha was a "collaborator and an apologist for colonialism," because he worked in the French dominated court.
[19] However, he goes on to state that Kha was not a Francophile but was guided by "reformist ambitions" and that he believed that independence from France could only come about with reform in politics, society and culture.
A contrasting understanding about Kha, which views him much more harshly comes from Seth Jacobs’ America's Miracle Man in Vietnam.