According to Yen, "With Taiwan's limited foreign relations, tourism is the best means available to make friends in the world." But he points out that Taiwan has ended direct air links with South Korea, views Hong Kong as gangland and has placed stringent restrictions on tourism from China, essentially turning off the taps that would otherwise allow tourists to flow to the island.
「當台灣的外交走不出去時，觀光是我們與全世界作朋友的最好管道，」他說，但現在台灣和南韓斷航斷交、視香港為匪區、開放大陸民眾來台觀光又有限制，等於關上自己的水龍頭。