23 million people live in Taiwan. Hualien County is home to 300,000. Here's what to know about the epicenter

Taipei has around 2.5 million inhabitants while the wider New Taipei City is home to a further 4 million people. The southern port city of Kaohsiung has 2.7 million residents.

In contrast, the eastern coast — where Wednesday's quake struck — is much less populated.

The island is regularly rocked by earthquakes. 

Here's what to know about the epicenter: Hualien County has a population of about 300,000, around 100,000 of whom live in the main city of Hualien.

But many in the region live in remote coastal or mountain communities that can be hard to reach, so it might take time to understand the extent of Wednesday's quake.

A magnitude 6.2 quake hit the area in 2018, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 300 others.

Taiwan's global role: The small island is a major economy that has an outsized impact on global business and trade, mainly because of its world-beating chips industry.

It also lies at the center of geopolitical tensions.

China's Communist Party has claimed the island as its territory, despite never having controlled it. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has ramped up economic, political and military pressure on Taiwan and vowed to one day "reunify" the island, by force if necessary.

Taiwanese people have largely shrugged off that threat. Earlier this year, voters handed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which Beijing loathes, a historic third consecutive presidency. Incumbent president Lai Ching-te will be inaugurated next month, replacing current president Tsai Ing-wen.

Source:CNN