A senior provincial official offended by a piece of news commentary sued the author but has now dropped the lawsuit.

Li Hongwen, director of the Opinion Department at Shenzhen-based Jingbao newspaper, wrote the piece, criticizing official support of violent demolitions by quoting an official in China Youth Daily, Dec 9.

The official, Wu Hao, deputy director of Publicity Department of Yunnan province was angered by the article, saying Li misunderstood him and then misled his readers. Wu decided to sue him as well as the newspaper office, seeking damages of 100,000 yuan ($15,023) from each.

Because Wu Hao and Li Hongwen are both Internet figures with many posts on their micro blogs on t.sina.com.cn, their bickering attracted a lot of attention from netizens.

But Wu announced on his micro blog on Dec 12 that he dropped the lawsuit because some leaders talked to him and their talk has cooled him down. Now all he wants is an apology but he hasn't received one yet.