Rita Fan tips Regina Ip and Antony Leung as 2017 election candidates

A Beijing-loyalist heavyweight has become the latest - and most significantly connected - voice to tip two former senior government officials as contenders for the city's top job in 2017, sparking claims a campaign was under way to create the appearance of democratic choice.

As the city grapples with the unprecedented Occupy Central protests - now into their third month - and rancour over what constitutes true democracy, Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai tipped ex-financial secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung and lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee as candidates for chief executive in 2017.

While their names are not new to the political rumour mill, some have interpreted the intervention by Fan - a former president of the Legislative Council and now Hong Kong's sole representative on the powerful National People's Congress Standing Committee - as an indication that a strategy is being deployed to give the perception of a race with many runners.

Fan's remarks were also criticised as they seemed to rule out the chance of a pan-democratic candidate joining the first chief executive election to be voted by the whole population.

Leung was financial secretary and Ip the secretary for security in chief executive Tung Chee-hwa's administration. The former resigned amid a conflict-of-interest row when he bought a car before a tax rise, and the latter quit amid the controversy about a national security bill under the Basic Law's Article 23 which prompted a 500,000-strong protest.

"As I can see now, those possible to throw their hat in the ring include, one, Mrs Regina Ip and, two, Mr Antony Leung," Fan said in an interview with RTHK. And if incumbent Leung Chun-ying ran again, "among these three people, I think I do have a choice".