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Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times. Chinese people were the first to develop the island, as described in a historical book entitled "Records of Coastal Waters and Land" (Lin Hai Shui Tu Zhi) published before 1700. This was the earliest records about Taiwan in the world. From the 17th century onwards, Chinese development of Taiwan became increasingly bigger in scale. Beginning from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), successive Chinese governments all established administrative organs in Taiwan, exercising effective rule over the island.
In the mid-17th century, Dutch colonialists occupied Taiwan by force. In 1662, Zheng Chenggong, a Chinese national hero, drove out the Dutch colonialists, restoring Taiwan to Chinese rule. In 1895, the Qing government of China, defeated in a Sino-Japanese war, was forced to cede Taiwan and Penghu Islands to Japan according to the Shimonoseki Treaty it signed with the latter. During the Second World War, in "Statement of China on Declaring War against Japan," the Chinese government announced to the world the abolition of all unequal treaties China had signed with Japan and its intention to recover Taiwan and Penghu Islands. In 1945 a defeated Japan accepted the Potsdam Proclamation and the Cairo Declaration unconditionally, handing Taiwan and Penghu Islands back to China. Taiwan and Penghu Islands thus became part of China again and came under the rule of the Chinese government.
Since 1949, for reasons known to all, Taiwan and the mainland have remained divided temporarily. But this has not changed the fact that Taiwan is an integral part of China. There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. This is also recognized by the United Nations and the majority of countries in the world.
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