China calling

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Sunday, June 06, 2004 | By Ken McCarthy

[Lake]

China calling Forward man helps American businesses enter Chinese market Sunday, June 06, 2004

By Ken McCarthy

When the president of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian, was shot in a failed assassination attempt in March, a Butler County man was not far away.

But it's really not surprising that David Fyock was in Taiwan then. He's been there and to mainland China several times over the course of his long career, including one trip in which he brought back a wife.

Fyock has spoken before the United Nations several times on Chinese issues. He has also taught introductory courses on the subject at Butler County Community College and has led several group tours of the nation.

He is considered one of the nation's premier experts on China and operates a business, China Consultants Inc., that helps American companies break into the Chinese market.

And he does it all from his childhood home, a farmhouse on Brownsdale Road in Forward.

"I love China and its people," he said. "My mother was a schoolteacher and she used to read stories to us about China.

"I guess I saw myself as a rural person like them. My mother always used to say you could take the boy out of the country but not the country out of the boy."

Fyock watches world news closely. He knows how important relations between the United States and China are to both countries. He also has a close-up perspective on the reunification of China and Taiwan.

The issue dates to 1949, when General Chiang Kai-Shek, leader of China's Nationalist government, fled to the island of Taiwan with 2 million followers to escape the Communist revolution on the mainland. The Communists and the Nationalists both claimed to lead the legitimate government of China, and have co-existed warily as separate political entities ever since.

The U.S. recognized the Communist government in the 1970s, but maintains close ties with the now-democratic Taiwan.

While declaring it wants a peacefully negotiated reunification, the Communist government in Beijing maintains it has the right to force reunification with Taiwan should it declare its independence.

Fyock said the people of Taiwan are split on reunification. Under its current constitution, Taiwan is classified as a "province" of the Republic of China. Fyock said he believes the United States would back China if Taiwan declared independence.

"This administration has been pretty consistent in terms of recognizing the one-China principle," he said. "But we said 20 years ago that the unification of China would have to be achieved peacefully."

[The Duke]

Personally, I *really* like all the Chinese people I have ever met. That said however, I must say that the nation of China has absolutely *nothing* to offer the USA. You'll see ice cubes in Hell before you see a *real* business opportunity in China.

For example, suppose a US company that specializes in constructing golf courses gets a contract to build such a course in China. You can bet that the US company will take the project for relatively low compensation in order to possibly get in on the potentially huge market. However, you can also bet that, while constructing that course on a tight budget, future Chinese golf course builders will be busy watching and taking notes.