Febie, a woman in her late 20s, nods towards a group of diners in her small café in central Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, and acknowledges that customers like them have been good for business over the past few years.

They are just a few of those tourists from Mainland China who have been visiting Taiwan in growing numbers.

But for Febie, the increase in customers comes tinged with fears about the future. She is concerned about what will happen to the island’s de facto independence when more and more Mainlanders keep flooding in and the economy becomes increasingly dependent on Mainland China’s business interests.

“I’m not very happy about all these Mainland Chinese tourists coming here,” she said, glancing across at the holidaymakers.

“Many people in Taiwan want independence.”

Like most other citizens living in Taiwan, Febie brands herself “Taiwanese” rather than “Chinese”.

A new poll by think tank the Taiwan Braintrust, shows that nearly 90 percent of the population in Taiwan — officially the Republic of China — would identify themselves as “Taiwanese” rather than “Chinese” if they were to choose between the two. Just 6 percent said they consider themselves Chinese.

The trend is strongest among the younger generations, with only 2.4% of those aged 20-29 identifying themselves as Chinese.