After becoming an expert on U.S-Russia relations during her campaign for the vice-presidency by claiming that Russia could be seen from Alaska, Sarah Palin can now add a second major power to her foreign policy credentials: China.
By reading a prepared, major foreign policy speech before a packed ballroom in Hong Kong’s Grand Hyatt hotel, Sarah Palin has now clearly and firmly cemented her foreign policy credentials and boosted her credibility for her 2012 presidential run.
While organizers banned media from the event “after the former vice-presidential candidate indicated she would speak differently if reporters were present,” audience members were able to tweet excerpts from her superbly prepared speech.
Acccording to Jonatahn Slone, CLSA’s chief executive officer, “It was a great speech…People got a lot of information” and “are now fully informed on Sarah Palin’s views.”
Her speech, according to the Guardian, covered both US domestic issues and foreign policy, with a particular focus on China.
“She basically said the US would like to not see China as a threat, but because it was not free, there would always be suspicions,” said Jeremy Goldkorn, founder of danwei.org, who attended the session.
Relying on her extensive, newly acquired foreign policy experience, Palin called the Obama administration’s decision to impose duties on Chinese tires a “mistake” and said “We simply cannot turn a blind eye to China’s policies and actions that could undermine international peace and security. China has some 1,000 missiles aimed at Taiwan and no serious observer believes that it poses a military threat to Beijing.” “Those same Chinese forces made our friends in Japan and Australia kinda nervous. China provides support for some of the most questionable regimes from Sudan to Burma to Zimbabwe.”
I am sure that Palin’s excellent, by-others-prepared foreign policy speech made a lot of other countries, and people, kinda nervous, too.
Palin received her first passport in 2007 and traveled extensively to Kuwait and Germany. With this trip to Hong Kong, she certainly rounds out her global travels and experience.
According to the Guardian, Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, told AP before the speech: “We’re curious as to what she’s willing to say in private but not in public.” “Are there other countries that she can see from her window that she doesn’t want us to know about?”
For more enlightening excerpts from Palin’s by-others-prepared speech, please click here and here.
Note: The opening paragraph has been changed to read: “After becoming an expert on U.S-Russia relations during her campaign for the vice-presidency by claiming that Russia could be seen from Alaska, Sarah Palin can now add a second major power to her foreign policy credentials: China.”
