Palin Slated to Speak in Hong Kong After Latest No-Show

Posted by Adele Stan at 7:30 AM on August 31, 2009.

The Associated Press is reporting that Sarah Palin is scheduled to make her first "commercial" speech in Hong Kong next month, where she is slated to address the CLSA Investors Forum, "a well-known annual conference of global investment managers," according to AP. Keynoters in previous years have included Bill Clinton, Alan Greenspan and Al Gore.

Will Palin show?  Just last week, she blew off the Alaska Family Council, which had been using her scheduled speech as a draw for their fundraiser. Palin's spokesperson claimed that Palin had never actually committed to appearing at the fundraising dinner.

Last month, Palin made a similar claim regarding a speech that the Simi Valley Republican Women's Club thought she had agreed to make at their event at the Reagan Library, leaving the GOP ladies high and dry.

If I were a betting woman, though, I'd put my money on Palin's showing up in Hong Kong. I'm willing to wager that the CLSA Investors Forum gig is a tad more lucrative than an appearance before the Alaska Family Council.  And for a woman whose foreign policy experience amounts to living next door to Russia, this opportunity for an all-expenses-paid trip to Asia -- Palin's first -- might just burnish that parochial resume a bit.

Just how much Palin is being paid for the Hong Kong gig is anybody's guess. (I'm guessing six figs.) AP reports that the event host has refused to comment on Palin's fee.

Tagged as: speech, sarah palin, alaska family council, reagan library, palin no-show

Adele M. Stan is AlterNet's Washington bureau chief.