Possible chief executive contender Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai admitted she made a mistake by branding Executive Council convenor Leung Chun-ying an unsuitable candidate for the city's top job seven years ago.
Former Legislative Council president Fan (pictured), 66, said she had 'said something wrong' and 'gone overboard' when she described Leung as unsuitable to run.
Speaking in Beijing on the sidelines of the annual plenary session of the National People's Congress, the NPC Standing Committee member stopped short of saying she would make a bid for chief executive.
One recent poll placed her ahead of both Leung and another hotly tipped contender, Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen.
Declining to give a definitive answer on whether she would run or not, Fan said only: 'I am too old.' Speculation over her intention to run has been rumbling for some time.
An opinion poll conducted by the Hong Kong Transition Project in November last year found that she was the public's favourite candidate for the next chief executive, with 60 per cent of the 807 respondents saying they would support her. Tang was backed by 53 per cent and Leung 37 per cent.
