Before the Kuomintang government reclaimed the podium of power in Taiwan two years ago, relations with China were tense and there was at least one move for the international exit among the foreign diplomatic corp. in favor of the carrots dangled by Beijing.

Since the party began its term in earnest, however, the tension that engulfed the small island of 23 million for decades has subsided, with the government of Ma Ying-jeou initiating unprecedented warmer ties with the Chinese government.

Business talks, seems to be the message from the galleries.

But cracks are emerging in the bandwagon that propelled the Kuomintang to office, a win which was buoyed by a populace spooked by the machinations of the pro-independence incumbent Chen Shui-bian that had apparently further isolated them from the international community.

The eroding support – marked at the polls in recent legislative and by-election losses – were capped off in early April when angry protesters fearful of closer ties with China swarmed Taipei’s Sungshan airport for the arrival of Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng.

The group, blocked by police with shields from getting near him, were denouncing a proposed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Taiwan – unrecognized by most of the world – and China, a pact seen by many as a precursor to a free trade treaty.

With ties between the nations accelerating and China appearing to exhibit a somewhat conciliatory approach, the demonstration fronts a growing feeling of unease among Taiwanese people, according to a smattering of locals interviewed by Asia-Pacific Business and Technology Report on the streets of capital Taipei shortly after the arrival of the Shanghai mayor.

While some analysts say the Ma government represents the most viable opportunity for peace and prosperity, opponents predict increased ties will take the island one step closer to falling under the control of Beijing.

Despite the business opportunities likely to open up if relations with China are normalized – not least of which a nod from Beijing that would allow it to strike economic pacts with other countries and trade blocs – many fear the overarching hand of the Chinese Communist Party in politics and every day life.

Some commentators point out the obvious consequence.

“Ma’s diplomatic efforts to this point make any form of aggression between the two nations far less imaginable than at any point in the past,” wrote Teri Schure, the founder of Worldpress, in a recent column for Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail.

The advances are palpable: Flights between the nations are on the rise. High-profile delegation interchanges like the one involving Shanghai’s mayor are becoming more common. And trade is increasing.

On the streets, many accept the economic benefits. But they fear what may come with further advances. “I don’t want (the Chinese mayor) here,” says Lin Long-chin, a 50-year-old contractor, “I don’t like it. We are getting too close and I feel like Taiwan is selling out to China. We don’t want China to control us.”

Bank clerk Joanna Riu, 27, said that though she was happy about the visit of Han, she feared what may follow any economic boost. “For business, it is good,” she says. “But if we get closer to China, we are going to lose our personal freedoms.” She fears a China-controlled Taipei modeled on the semiautonomous status of Hong Kong, which she sees as pseudo-freedom.

Though the idea of outright independence in Taiwan is supported by many, any move toward it from the island’s current de facto status is seen as taboo – a big part of the reason the Kuomintang won back power from the Democratic Progressive Party. “I want total independence,” explains small business owner Vanessa Tsai, “but we don’t declare because we don’t want to give China a reason to act.”

Others see Chinese control as inevitable. Recent university graduate Sylvia Wang, 23, who disagrees with the closer ties, believing they will pose a danger to Taiwanese businesses, says that 20 years from now “we won’t have independence.”

There are other worries, say sources, over the impact of the pro- China policy on relations with Japan. This week also saw a visit by the contentious figure of former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, who while foreign minister in 2006 angered Beijing by referring to Taiwan as a “law abiding country.”

The opposition DPP – which considers the economic agreement a threat to local jobs and susceptible to a flood of cheap Chinese goods on the domestic market – criticized the government for welcoming Mayor Han in a lavish ceremony, while maintaining a low profile in its dealings with Aso.

But the Ma government insists the pact, which it wants in place as early as June, will be pivotal to Taiwan’s competitiveness on the world stage. Other observers agree. Douglas Paal, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, said it would reduce the island’s marginalization and create opportunities for free trade agreements with other countries.

That does not seem to be enough, however, to persuade those among an apparently considerable section of the public who talk about the possible consequences with an air of nervousness.

While the ruling Kuomintang’s founding father, the nationalist Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to the island in 1949 after his defeat at the hands of the communists, envisioned a united China controlled by his party, Ma insists he will not pursue unification, maintaining he supports the status quo.

Public support is in flight, coming against the backdrop of a United States, long the implied protector of Taiwan, facing the rising might of China, and pressure from Beijing as it pushes its claims to sovereign rights over Taiwan and the western region of Tibet, home of the contentious figure the Dalai Lama.

That possibility has not been lost on ordinary Taiwanese. Small businesswoman Tsai fears Washington won’t come to Taiwan’s aid if China was to make a more aggressive move to assert control over the island, despite a recent incident in which the superpower came in for criticism from Beijing over an arms deal with Taipei. “The U.S. is too clever,” she says. “It won’t want to get involved.

Professing an apparent apathy for politics, she added: “I just want to live my life with freedom.”