Remember Sarah Palin’s alleged “triple the money” campaign? She’s all set to take her first baby steps in pursuit thereof:

When Hong Kong-based brokerage group CLSA announced that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin would be the keynote speaker at its annual conference, many observers wondered if the arrangement was just some sort of joke, noting that Palin’s most notable foreign policy experience is being able to see Russia from Alaska. Unfortunately, we may never find out what Palin tells the audience of international investors. AFP reports that her Sept. 23 speech will be closed to the press. “Some of our keynote sessions in previous years were also closed to the media. So this is not the first time,” said a CLSA spokesperson. “Ms Palin has not yet confirmed with us the topic of her speech.” Palin’s trip to Hong Kong will be her first visit to Asia and her first paid speaking engagement since leaving office.

AFP‘s original story announcing the engagement makes pretty hilarious reading:

One of Asia’s top investment houses touted Sarah Palin Tuesday as a global heavyweight ahead of the former US vice presidential nominee’s first public speaking engagement outside North America.

The former Alaska governor will be the keynote speaker at an annual conference bringing hundreds of chief executives, fund managers and other financial big-hitters from around the world to Hong Kong this month.
[...]
Past speakers at the yearly event hosted by brokerage and investment group CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets include former US president Bill Clinton, Clinton’s vice president Al Gore, and ex-Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan.

“We like to present to our investors people of significant public profile who can present a view on what is happening globally and geopolitically,” CLSA spokeswoman Simone Wheeler told AFP.

“We have had many keynote speakers at these events who have used the forum as a platform to launch a position” on their view of the world, she said.

Wheeler said organisers were still discussing with Palin the topic of her address, and said that CLSA was unable to disclose her fee.

“As the first female governor of Alaska and the youngest person ever elected governor of that state, Palin has broken new ground in US politics and we are delighted that she will make her first visit to Asia to present at the CLSA Investors’ Forum,” the group’s chairman Jonathan Sloane said.

Nobody at CLSA even knows what Palin will talk about, let alone what she will say. If I were a CLSA bigwig, I’d be very nervous.

But at least it’s no mystery why Palin wanted to go. To Hong Kong, I mean. Not only is she on her way to tripling the money, she also gets to double her foreign policy credentials. Because the word is that you can see China from there.