Carrie Lam: Mixed Signals

So what's the deal? Will she or won't she run for Chief Executive in 2017?

There was wide spread speculation that Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor would run for her boss' job next year, but she wanted to quash the talk yesterday, saying that kind of conjecture was a waste of time and that she had made her stance "crystal clear".

However, she did not categorically spell out her intentions when she spoke to reporters ahead of her trip to Vietnam.

"Some people have thought I am very ambitious to run for the post of chief executive... since I made a duty visit to Sichuan in May," she said. "But I want to tell these people that they are wasting their efforts as my stance over this issue has been crystal clear."

Those who intended to sow discord between senior government officials and civil servants would only bring more conflict to society," Lam said.

During that Sichuan trip, Lam did not reply to questions if she would run for CE, saying she would answer the question 12 or 13 months later. This compares to her statement in January when she said she would not stay in the administration, would not run for the top job, nor participate in politics after the end of her term next June.

So will she or won't she?

Guess the speculation continues...