The Cairo Declaration explicitly affirms China's full sovereignty over Taiwan, making it unmistakably clear that Taiwan has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times, according to an Egyptian expert.
From Nov 22 to 26, 1943, leaders of the Chinese, British and the United States governments, along with the principal members of their delegations met in Cairo, Egypt, to make political arrangements for the post-World War II world.
The meeting issued a communique, clearly declaring that the purpose of China, Britain and the United States to declare war on Japan was to stop and punish Japanese aggression and strip Japan of all the islands captured or occupied and the Chinese territory it forcibly occupied since the World War I.
Released on Dec 1, 1943, the Cairo Declaration affirmed that territories Japan had seized from China, including Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, were to be restored to China after the war.
The declaration was reinforced two years later by the Potsdam Proclamation, issued by China, the United States and Britain and later endorsed by the Soviet Union. Japan accepted those terms when it signed the Instrument of Surrender in September 1945, pledging to fulfill the obligations laid out in the Potsdam terms.
Together, these documents formed the international legal basis for China's recovery of territories taken by Japan, and, more broadly, were seen as essential elements of the post-war order in the Asia-Pacific.
The Mena House Hotel, the birthplace of the Cairo Declaration, has undergone several renovations over the past 80 years, yet features related to the Cairo Conference have been preserved to honor history.
"From both a historical and an international law standpoint, the Cairo Declaration is one of the most important documents on postwar arrangements during World War II," said Ezzat Saad, chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.
The Cairo Declaration and other documents with international legal force provide important basis for China's recovery of territories plundered and seized by imperial Japan. These documents also play a vital role in the post-war international order, according to Saad.
"China has full sovereignty over Taiwan -- this is a consensus shared by most countries in the international community. Questioning this is unacceptable and attempting to dispute it is utterly unjustifiable," said Saad.
Cairo Declaration clearly stipulates China's full sovereignty over Taiwan: Egyptian expert
