Zhang Ping's situation illustrates the risks of bucking China's government at a sensitive time. It is also an example of the often ambiguous ways the country's Communist officialdom makes its displeasure known.

The Paris-based media rights group Reporters Without Borders has said Zhang was fired as deputy editor in chief at the Southern Weekend for writing his commentary. The publication is part of a media group famous for testing the limits of press freedom in China.

But Hong Kong's South China Morning Post quoted the newspaper group's deputy editor in chief, Jiang Yiping, on Tuesday as saying that reports about Zhang's dismissal were ''utter nonsense'' and that his job was not affected by the commentary last month. Jiang did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press.

Zhang gave only cryptic answers during a telephone interview Wednesday. ''It's not convenient for me to accept interviews now,'' he said when asked if he had been fired.

He also declined to say whether his position has changed at the publication. ''It's not convenient for me to confirm that,'' he said.

The writer sparked an angry backlash in Internet chat groups and on the editorial pages of other newspapers by writing an April 3 commentary, ''How to find the truth about Lhasa?'' The piece discussed Western media coverage of the violent Tibetan protests in March.

Many Chinese felt that foreign news reports were biased, and Zhang said he generally agreed with that assessment. But he also wondered whether China's state-run media were properly covering the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who is vilified in the official Chinese press.

''The Dalai Lama asked the Chinese government to reassess him, so what kind of person is he really? Apart from the official government position, will the media be permitted to discuss the matter freely and uncover more truths?'' he said in the article, printed in the Southern Metropolis Daily, a sister publication of Southern Weekend.

Zhang also said that if Chinese readers really cared about news values and flawed Western media reports, they should also challenge the government's tight control over Chinese news sources and media.

The Southern Metropolis Daily has a reputation for aggressive reporting and provocative opinion pieces. Some of its reporters have been jailed after apparently angering officials.