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
Taiwan Review Taiwan Review Taiwan Review () is a general-interest English-language bi-monthly published by Kwang Hua Publishing, Inc. in the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the supervision of the Department of International Information Services, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its purpose is to inform English readers around the world of what takes place in the island-nation. The "Taiwan Review" was established in April 1951 under the name Free China Review – as opposed to the communist Chinese mainland – and at that time was the first ROC government-funded English-language publication targeting overseas readers. The "Free China Review" title stayed for half a century