Taiwan and larger than Belgium. The island of Taiwan has an area of , and lies some from the southeastern coast of mainland China across the Taiwan Strait. The East China Sea lies to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait directly to the south, and the South China Sea to the southwest. Its shape is similar to a sweet potato, giving rise to the slang term "hanji" ("sweet potato" in Hokkien) used by Taiwanese Hokkien speakers to refer to people of native Taiwanese descent. The island is characterized by the contrast between
Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) China. Following the success of the Northern Expedition, the Central Bank took over the role of central bank for China from the Bank of China in 1928, with its headquarters in Shanghai. Before 1949, it was one of China's "Big Four" national banks, along with the Bank of China, Bank of Communications, and Farmers Bank of China. After the loss of mainland China in the Chinese Civil War by the Kuomintang (KMT) and its subsequent retreat to Taiwan in December 1949, the Central Bank of China also moved along with the government to Taiwan. Until it was re-established as central