Geography of Taiwan and has an area of (including some minor islands). The shape of the main island is similar to a sweet potato oriented in a south-to-north direction, and therefore Taiwanese, especially the Min Nan speakers, often call themselves "children of the Sweet Potato". The central point of the island is the Geographic Center of Taiwan in Puli Township, Nantou County. The southernmost point of the island is the Taiwan Southernmost Point in Hengchun Township, Pingtung County. The island of Taiwan is separated from the southeast coast of China by the Taiwan Strait, which ranges from at its widest point to at
Mainland China War on the mainland. This forced the Kuomintang to relocate the Government and institutions of the Republic of China to the relative safety of Taiwan, an island which was placed under the control of the Republic of China after the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II in 1945. With the establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, the CPC-controlled government saw itself as the sole legitimate government of China, competing with the claims of the Republic of China, whose authority is now limited to Taiwan and other islands. This has resulted in