Mrs Fan, who is also a deputy to the National People's Congress, announced in July that she would not seek re-election to Legco. There has been speculation that her departure is to pave the way to join the NPC Standing Committee, whose election is coming up next month.

She denied a recent media report that she might change her mind and seek another term in Legco because Basic Law Committee vice-chairwoman Elsie Leung Oi-sie had emerged as a frontrunner over her for the NPC Standing Committee post. Mrs Fan reiterated that she had made her decision clear.

Asked about her chances of joining the Standing Committee, she said she would 'let nature take its course'.

Mrs Fan predicted that more Hong Kong candidates might take part in the NPC election as interest in state affairs had grown. There were 78 local contenders competing for 36 seats in the 2002 polls.

Liberal Party chairman James Tien Pei-chun said his party was planning to field three or four candidates in the NPC race.

Apart from legislators, the party would also look for hopefuls among well-known figures in different business sectors, he said. Its vice-chairwoman Miriam Lau Kin-yee said yesterday she was considering running.

Ip Kwok-him, vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and an incumbent NPC deputy, said he would stand for re-election in January. But his party had not held a concrete discussion on the election as members did not need the DAB's endorsement to run.