Media barred from Palin speech
2009-09-14 13:02
Hong Kong - The first keynote speech outside North America by former US vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will be closed to the media, organisers of the Hong Kong event said on Monday.
Palin, mocked during last year's presidential campaign for her lack of experience in foreign affairs and for her verbal gaffes, is due to give the headline address at the CLSA Investors' Forum on September 23.
The former Alaska governor will address hundreds of chief executives, fund managers and other financial big-hitters from around the world at the Hong Kong forum.
The event in general is open to the media. But a spokesperson for CLSA, one of Asia's top investment houses, said that Palin's session with the moneyed audience will take place in private.
"Some of our keynote sessions in previous years were also closed to the media. So this is not the first time," she told AFP, declining to be named.
"Ms Palin has not yet confirmed with us the topic of her speech," the spokesperson added.
Past speakers at the annual CLSA event include former US president Bill Clinton, Clinton's vice president Al Gore, and ex-Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan.
- AFP