A successful Cooperation in China

I joined WAD since 1999 and took part in the Mid-Term meeting in New Orleans in 2001, I deeply felt that the conference was very successful.

Through the conferences we could learn from each other, and also we could get acquainted with member friends whom we were familiar with but never met before.

During this conference fortunately I have had a chance to speak with Mr. Jan Stekelenburg, the first vice-president of the WAD. We had achieved a creative preparatory idea, which was "working exchange of visit". After the conference we communicated for several times via e-mail and finally we confirmed the time schedule in October 2001. The new jumping-off point established the good basis of cooperation and development for our future work.

Mr. Jan Stekelenburg and Mrs. Sylvia Stekelenburg arrived in Beijing , China on October 12th 2001, as scheduled for three weeks working exchange of visit. The next day, Mr. Jan Stekelenburg and Mrs. Sylvia Stekelenburg began working in their new working environment. They immediately dived into the work. Every day we surrounded the table to talk about the investigation cases, which were on the process, discussing how to start the next procedure and also participating in on-the-spot investigation work to get the first hand information with our operators during investigation. We discussed and communicated at any moment, comparing the differences of investigation techniques and patterns between China and Western countries, and the case processed smoothly as we expected. Soon they were involved in the operation of Chinese company operation pattern and they were interested in Chinese operation, culture, customs and Chinese food. Every day they were full of curiosity.

Due to widely different culture background and political system, which lead to the different thoughts and operation, in practical operation, we respectively introduced our operation mode, status, pattern and operational prospects. In China the investigation industry is an emerging/burgeoning industry. Most of the China citizens feel strange and sensitive about investigations. Hence, business investigation is intervenient between legal and consultation industry.

Steele is making great efforts to popularize the real meaning of business investigation for people and we will hold a special training or communication meeting for enterprises termly.

Firstly, in most of the Western countries, investigator and detective are all-purpose. The investigation is an independent industry, however in China we cannot use this word --- detective --- in the investigative industry. We can use investigator. Detective is an appellation for those conduct criminal spying in Public Security Bureau and procuratorate organs for the purpose of reconnaissance, so other organizations or Individuals have no reconnaissance rights. A reconnaissance must be conducted according to laws and regulations and reconnaissance is the basis of the whole criminal procedure. So the basic cognition of investigation concept is the first difference of investigation industry between China and West.

Secondly, different national systems have different rules for the investigative industry. In Holland , the government accepts the investigative industry. There are special investigation laws for the private investigative industry.

In Europe, if an individual wants to be a private investigator, first he/she has to accept investigative or relevant specialty education to obtain a degree, then he/she submits an application to a relative enforcement for private investigator license, after the enforcement checking the specific background of the applicant he/she can get a private investigator license, which is authorized by the enforcement. Only an individual provided with above two conditions can conduct as a private investigator, however the verification procedure will be held every three years by the enforcement to check background of private investigators for replacing new licenses.

The authorization for private investigators in Europe is the same as that for lawyers in China , however, there are no homologous regulations for the investigative industry. If a company or an individual wants to engage in investigative business, the company or individual must go to the local administration for industrial and commercial for business registration. The individual can start his business after getting a business license., as well as the business scope is limited. The system diversity is the second essential difference between China and West.

About the operation of an investigation case, Jan energetically took part in the operation and wanted to know how a Chinese investigative agency is dealing business. So we did detailed communication, analysis and comparison of investigation operation between China and Holland . Both of us were surprised about the visible differences of investigation operation, hence we got new knowledge about the investigation operation of each other. Also it made us understand different operation skills. Take an insurance claim for instance. We will conduct a thoroughly investigation of the company from all aspects through various means and the investigation is divided into collecting information (including company registration information, company background, history, legal representative & shareholders info, company reputation, property and so on) and on-the-spot investigation (our operator will personally go to the company to check the actuality, take pictures and so on). Actually, the whole investigation is conducted quietly/secretly.

In Europe , the operator/private investigator can directly interview and investigate the object after accepting an assignment. The essential factor is that the laws & Regulations of Europe endow the private investigators with the right to investigate. So when a private investigator conducts a thoroughly investigation case, he/she needs to show the private investigator license to the object. The object can cooperate with the private investigators, but is not obliged to do so.

During this rare visit we cherished each opportunity to learn from and know about each other, not only work experience, but also culture and custom. Jan and Sylvia felt the enthusiasm and hospitality of Chinese and they felt China is a country of vitality. To most of our foreign friends, China is a very strange and faraway country. They also think China is very poor, uncultured without high technology and lives in the primordial stage. We believe that Jan and Sylvia personally experienced the real China . Beijing , the capital of China , will demonstrate an extraordinary fact by her competitive ability. Along with China joined into WTO, and Beijing is the city for holding 2008 Olympic games, we sincerely invite global friends to come to China, know China and feel China. We believe that you will discover that China is a huge potential market waiting for your participation and deploitation.

Working visit exchange, the basis of cooperation is a strategic pioneering work; we hope to know more about each other through this pioneering work, to become a real business globalization. A successful working visit exchange is the foundation of cooperation, let us to force international cooperation.

The three weeks visit past fast and we were reluctant to part with each other because we were harmonious. Jan and Sylvia were impressed with each colleague of our company as well as each colleague was impressed with Jan and Sylvia. They also got along really well with our three assistants, Linda, Lucille and Greece and they cooperated very well in the work. They laughed a lot when they stayed together. Sylvia said: "Mr. Hai Yang, if we stayed here for another month your three assistants would be Jan's assistants." Oh, it seems I will be out of work!