For the past five years he has been using his income from antiques dealing to fund his research into the historical links between Taiwan and his native Netherlands. In addition to antiquarian book dealers and auctions throughout Western Europe, the quest for ancient artifacts related to China and Taiwan has led him to places as far apart as Estonia, India, Armenia, and Vladivostok.
而近五年來，他為更深入了解祖國荷蘭與台灣的歷史淵源，開始以古董買賣為業，以支助自己的台灣史研究，並因此得以頻繁出入西歐各國古書店、拍賣市場，足跡更遍及愛沙尼亞、印度、亞美尼亞、海參威等地，致力於台灣與中國珍貴古物的蒐集。