Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee yesterday maintained the principle 'silence is golden' as she made her first public appearance since returning from Stanford University two weeks ago.
The former secretary for security was peppered with questions from journalists - including whether she would form a party and stand in the 2008 Legislative Council elections - when she attended a cocktail reception last night marking the 14th anniversary of what is now the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
'I will make an announcement later if I have any further plan,' Mrs Ip said. On Sunday, she said she would respect the DAB and 'continue to play 'Silence is golden'.'
Executive councillor and former DAB chairman Tsang Yok-sing said last week that Mrs Ip was preparing to stand in the 2008 Legco election and planned to establish a party.
Mrs Ip stole the media spotlight during her 40-minute stay at the reception, where she had a brief chat with Gao Siren, director of the central government's liaison office in Hong Kong.
But she did not have the opportunity for a reunion with Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, who arrived at the venue shortly after she left.
Mrs Ip would not be drawn on whether she had met Donald Tsang, who was chief secretary before her resignation as security chief in 2003, since returning from Stanford University.
