Zhang Hong, a former deputy editor with the Beijing-based Economic Observer, said he was punished after the editorial ran jointly in 13 major newspapers across the country last week.

"After this incident, I was punished accordingly; other colleagues and media partners also felt repercussions," Zhang said in a letter dated March 9.

The editorial was highly unusual as the country's media rarely criticise official policy overtly, either because they are tightly controlled by the government or censor themselves to avoid repercussions.

Zhang's letter focussed largely on explaining why the editorial was written and did not confirm if he had been removed from his post, but added he was now an "independent commentator".

The letter appeared on a number of Chinese blogs and Internet sites, and the website of the Wall Street Journal, which said he had been forced from his job as a senior editor, citing unnamed sources.

AFP was not able to independently confirm the authenticity of the letter. Staff members at the Economic Observer denied anyone had been punished when contacted by AFP.

The letter appeared to underline the risks faced by the nation's proliferating media outlets despite repeated pledges by the Chinese Communist Party to allow its press a freer rein.

The editorial was especially provocative as it ran on March 1, ahead of the convening of China's National People's Congress, the rubber-stamp parliament, and called on delegates to step up reform of the so-called "hukou" system.

The system ties people to a residency registration in their hometown, largely preventing them access to a range of public services such as health insurance and free schooling for children once they migrate to other cities.

It has become increasingly unpopular with the nation's more than 200 million migrant workers. The 13-paper editorial said it "shackles" China's people.

In a policy document earlier this year, the government itself said it would change the system, apparently emboldening state media to run a number of commentaries in recent weeks urging reform.

But the publication of the unprecedented joint editorial so close to the start of the parliamentary session appeared to have been too much for authorities.

Zhang's letter said the "stir it created went beyond our initial expectations".

When contacted by AFP, staff at several of the other publications that ran the editorial either declined to comment or denied anyone had been fired.

The original editorial was not readily apparent Wednesday on the websites of the 13 newspapers that ran it. China's army of Internet censors often delete content deemed objectionable.

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