Asked whether he would be dismayed if Mr Tung, an Executive Councillor, withdrew from the race, Mr Zhou said: 'I don't think so. It's too early to say who will be or who won't be [a candidate].' Mr Zhou dismissed media reports as 'sheer nonsense'.

'Sometimes they say A, sometimes they say B. Where do these reports come from?' Preparatory Committee member Xu Simin said it was to be expected that someone who was interested in the post should say so publicly.

'If he [Mr Lo] wants to talk about it, can you stop him? If another [Mr Tung] doesn't want it, can you stop him bowing out?' he asked.

Committee colleague Cheng Yiu-tong said: 'We have known for some time that he [Mr Lo] is interested, it is good to let the public know now and have time for them to assess him.' Mr Cheng said the timing of the candidates' announcement of their intentions did not matter. The important thing was competence and credibility.

However, committee member Allen Lee Peng-fei urged Mr Tung to make public his intentions immediately.

'Although the Selection Committee has yet to be formed, Hong Kong people want to know who is going to run for the post and administer them after 1997,' he said.

The candidates also had to give people an idea on the policy and direction Hong Kong would move in, or even have a debate with their rivals, he added.

Mr Lee, the Liberal Party chairman, ruled out the possibility that he would stand.

But he hoped it would not be a one-horse race.