Former US Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who is viewed with equal fervor as an ignorant fool or the voice of the common man by those who either loathe or love her, is coming to Hong Kong to seek international street cred.
Palin, who suddenly quit her job on July 26 as Alaska's governor, is scheduled to give her first major international overseas address as the keynote speaker at the 16th annual CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets Investors forum from September 21 to 25. The decision to bring in Palin as keynote speaker has been met with incredulity from many among the business community in Hong Kong, asking if it might not be a hoax.
Asked if the email announcing Palin's appearance might indeed be a hoax, Simone Wheeler, head of communications for the investment bank, responded: "No, not a joke at all. The CLSA Investors' Forum has traditionally been a platform for firsts into Asia: Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Alan Greenspan. As an independent investment house, we aim to provide speakers of note."
Palin was roundly mocked during the presidential campaign as US Sen. John McCain's running mate for saying she was experienced in foreign relations because she could see Russia from her northern outpost across the Bering Strait.
For that remark, US Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican and presumably an ally in last year's election, said "She doesn't have any foreign policy credentials. You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don't know what you can say. You can't say anything." Hagel said the campaign should "be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, 'I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia. That kind of thing is insulting to the American people."
Palin is a galvanic speaker whose first appearance on a national stage in the United States – at the Republican National Convention in September 2008 – catapulted her into the spotlight. Unscripted, however, she has been a disaster. Her first major interview with the national press – with CBS News' anchor Katie Couric – was such a catastrophe that the McCain campaign largely kept her away from reporters from until the end of the campaign. Indeed, the CLSA speech will be off-limits to the press although, Wheeler said, there might be an opportunity for a press conference.
"Honestly? This isn't a hoax?" asked the managing director of a Hong Kong business chain. "It's entertaining perhaps, in a road accident sort of way! Now I've seen everything."
Palin has never been noted to have much expertise in economics or finance. Said an independent investor: "Sarah Palin is a real expert on money-making. I wonder if it will be her (to arrive in Hong Kong) or Tina Fey," a reference to a devastating send-up of Palin by the comedienne Fey on Saturday Night Live, an American comedy show.
Several reasons have been given for the arch-conservative self-described hockey mom's precipitous departure from Alaskan politics, ranging from scandal fatigue to – much more likely – a desire to play on a bigger stage than the isolated northernmost US state in preparation for a run at the US Presidency in 2012 Her trip to Hong Kong is an obvious first attempt to begin to build foreign policy and international credentials.
Nonetheless, her selection as speaker for the CLSA convention had Hong Kong's investment community scratching their heads although one independent broker said the selection was "a good idea. It will guarantee a wide attendance."
Another investor, however, called it "typical of CLSA's decline since the death of Gary Coull," CLSA's co-founder, who died in 2006. "Or it might be a way of way of ingratiating with Beijing by making America look ridiculous," he fumed.
CLSA has become a powerhouse in Asia for its offbeat approach to investing, for instance publishing a whimsical annual feng-shui prediction report on the regional markets over the coming year. Annual forums have included mid-week parties with ageing pop stars and sessions with such political stars as Clinton, Gore and Greenspan.
However, it was the quality of research that made CLSA what it is. Founded by two former journalists – Coull and Jim Walker – it has consistently been ranked first in Bloomberg's most accurate Asian research poll and the Thomson Extel Asia Pacific Survey, among others.
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