Palin Resurfaces With Finance Speech in Asia

Critiques U.S. foreign policy with 90-minute speech

Updated 4:01 AM CDT, Sat, Sep 26, 2009

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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin resurfaced from a nearly two-month break from the spotlight in Hong Kong this week, where she delivered a 90-minute speech to investors about international financial markets, making sure to crack her usual dig at President Obama and the Democrats' economic policies.

The U.S. needs to "rise responsibly" and stop ignoring "areas of disagreement" in economic relations with Hong Kong, Palin said in the speech, which criticized Obama's relationship with China and the surrounding areas.

Democrats widely chastised Palin's move to bash Obama on her first trip to Asia, saying that her persistence the U.S. was ignoring Asian affairs is inaccurate -- and that her speech was less about advancing the vice presidential also-ran politically and more about boosting her financial portfolio.

Palin also said in the speech, for which she was paid a reported six figures, that she resigned from the governorship in July in part to pay legal bills that have exceeded $500,000.