Last updated at 1.45am, Friday: Reports that Anson Chan Fang On-sang had quit her post as the Government number two swept across Hong Kong early on Friday.
Mrs Chan, deputy to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, was said to have handed in her resignation on Thursday, ending her term a year and a half early.
She remained inside her official Barker Road residence on the Peak and did not emerge to answer questions from a crowd of reporters gathered outside. Government spokesmen declined to deny the reports.
''All I can say is that her Press Secretary has refused to allow comments to the speculative reports,'' the spokesman said.
''Maybe by tomorrow morning things will be cleared up,'' he added.
As Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Chan is head of the 190,000-strong Civil Service and acts as chief executive when Mr Tung is out of Hong Kong.
There have frequent reports of friction between Mrs Chan and Mr Tung in private, but in public they have always supported each other.