Former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang kept everybody guessing last night over whether or not she will stand for chief executive next year, telling a newspaper awards ceremony: 'Watch this space.'
She faced down repeated questions about whether she would challenge incumbent Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and refused to be drawn on her political ambitions.
Mrs Chan's comment is bound to fuel speculation about her intentions, which has been mounting since she took part in a pro-democracy demonstration in December.
Answering reporters' questions after giving a keynote speech at the Society of Publishers in Asia awards about the importance of freedom of information, Mrs Chan was less than free with information about her future plans.
'It's been five years since I retired. I am a private citizen. And I do not feel that, as a private citizen, it is necessary to disclose things that I am not willing to disclose at this stage. So just watch this space,' she said.
Mrs Chan said when she joined the December rally that she would 'see one step, walk one step'. Later that month, she said she had 'no personal interest in standing for election in 2007'.
Every move Mr Tsang and Mrs Chan make in the coming months will attract the closest scrutiny, as the speculation about their visit to Macau last weekend for a get-together of last governor Lord Patten's cabinet showed. Both were quick to play down their meeting.
