"I will not comment on the specific behavior of any lawmaker. But I have to admit that today's incident will affect the views of the public," Fan said.

Councillors had to make their own decisions on whether or not to attend meetings but she hopes that both pro-government and democratic party members will consider their responsibilities before taking such action.

Wednesday's Legco boycott by pro-government members followed an unofficial minute's silence for Zhao by members of the democratic front.

Fan said she has no intention of punishing anyone for what happened.

``Of course, I feel sad that things turned out the way they did, but I have no intention to blame anyone.

``If I were to make a suggestion, it will be to ask everyone to look at what we have done in the past and to ask ourselves, are we serving the people of Hong Kong? That is, after all, what our voters expect of us.''

Fan explained that under the Rules of Procedures she can take action only on acts committed within the chamber hall.

But she does not think any lack of action on her part will lead to more boycotts in the future.

``I have no right to interfere with the decisions of lawmakers as they are responsible to the public and their voters and not the chairperson of the legislature,'' Fan said.

``I know the limitations of my office and I do not intend to abuse my powers. I have no right to require all lawmakers to attend every meeting, nor can I prevent them from leaving the chamber for a coffee break.''

Fan insisted her actions were not the result of any outside influence nor was there any intervention by pro-Beijing figures.

`` I am politically neutral and I only refer to the Council's Rules of Procedure for any action I may have to take,'' she said.

The Legislative Council was scheduled to debate a motion of thanks to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa for his policy blueprint.

That meeting has now been adjourned to next Wednesday.

Fan said she will also resume the postponed question-and-answer session, the first and second readings of the Merchant Shipping Bill 2005 and the motion on the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance before the debate on the policy address.

Discussions on two motions by members calling for the introduction of a fair competition law for the oil industry and for the enactment of freedom of information legislation, will be held after the policy address debate.

A final decision on the timing of these motions will be made at tomorrow's House Committee meeting.

michael.ng@globalchina.com