A reporter said Peng Xiaoyun , the editor of the paper's opinion section who was in charge of the special, was told that she had to resign before the Lunar New Year. Peng has been on involuntary leave for the past few days.

But, the reporter said, 'the newspaper saw a strong reaction to the decision and has frozen its original decision ... As far as I know, Peng will be fine - at least up to the Lunar New Year.'

Peng said: 'It's not convenient for me to talk to media right now.'

Online rumours said chief editor Song Fanyin had not been to the office this year and had been stopped from signing-off on the pages, and his successor would be Lu Hui, previously an editor at The Southern Metropolis News. The reporter said Song was not directly responsible for the special and his case probably had nothing to do with it.

Phone calls to Song yesterday went unanswered.

Columnist Chang Ping, who has been transferred or demoted at least four times for similar reasons at other publications, said the sacking was probably a case of self-censorship, sacrificing an employee to save the newspaper. Time Weekly removed artist Ai Weiwei from a list of 10 influential artists that was part of the special report before going to print.

Peng's plight has put the transparency of media control under the spotlight. She wrote on her Sina microblog that she understood the media environment and would accept any decision. But she also called for more transparency in decision-making.

Chang said 'The lack of transparency in media restriction all comes down to the characteristics of media censorship: uncertainty and operating under the table.'

A couple of scholars have pledged to boycott the newspaper. Renmin University professor Zhang Ming , a columnist for Time Weekly, said he had stopped writing for the publication.