Egypt releases Arabic documentary on Cairo Declaration

The first-ever Arabic-language documentary discussing the sacrifices and roles of both China and Egypt during World War II was released in Cairo Wednesday.

The documentary, dubbed "Cairo Declaration... A story of a document," tackles the Chinese-Japanese conflicts over territories and islands seized by Japan during its war against China which started July 7, 1937 and ended September 11, 1945.

On Dec. 1, 1943, after week-long intensive meetings in Cairo, then U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek, jointly vowed to continue their military operations against Japan to "restrain and punish it" until its "unconditional surrender."

Dismissing thoughts of gains or territorial expansion, the three powers agreed their target was that "Japan shall be stripped of all the islands in the Pacific" which it seized or occupied since the beginning of World War I, along with "all territories Japan stole from China."

Japan will be expelled from all territories it took by force, read the declaration issued at Cairo's Mena House, a restaurant complex near the renowned Giza Pyramids.

The statement was published simultaneously in Washington, London and China's wartime capital Chongqing on the day it was issued.

The Cairo Declaration set the tone for an imminent victory in World War II, as well as the goals for post-war world order.

Adel Sabri, CEO of the Egyptian O2 E-Content company which independently produced the documentary, told Xinhua that he has been working on the documentary for three years and meant to release it on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

"The Chinese people sacrificed a lot. These sacrifices were not well highlighted and the Chinese people were not appropriately appreciated for this," he said during the film's release held at the Mena House hotel, organized by the Chinese Embassy in Cairo.

Sabri said he produced the film in Arabic to give Arab nations further chances to get acquainted with extra facts regarding that era, adding that the documentary will be screened on Arabic-language TV channels.

"Arabs are under-informed concerning the Chinese-Japanese war, which is why it took three years of information and fact gathering to present to Arab viewers," he added.

Sabri pointed out that Cinema should be used widely and correctly to present historical facts to people everywhere.

"Many people do not even know that half a million Egyptians were killed during World War I, and thousands died during World War II," he said.

Sabri stressed that millions of Chinese were also killed during these wars, but these facts were not appropriately mentioned in history books and the media.

Concerning the difficulties he faced during the making of the documentary, Sabri said collecting information was the greatest difficulty, adding that documenting and filming were additionally difficult, however his team managed to overcome these challenges.

The film introduces the deeply-rooted historical Chinese-Egyptian relationship. It also tackles the periods before and after the Cairo Declaration, along with China's determination to retrieve its seized rights.

Meanwhile, Charge d'affaires Qi Qianjin from the Chinese Embassy in Egypt told Xinhua that the Cairo Declaration remains a cornerstone of war against fascism.

"The Cairo Declaration set the framework and foundation for a new post-war international order in the Asian Pacific region," he said.
Source: XINHUA