China closes liberal website after reform call

BEIJING (AFP) - A liberal Chinese journal had its website shut down on Friday, it said, after it urged the country's Communist leaders - who regularly promise reform - to follow the constitution.

The website of Annals of the Yellow Emperor, a prominent Beijing-based publication, was closed days after it published an article arguing that China's constitution lays out a roadmap for political change.

Attempts to access the website on Friday led to a page with a cartoon policeman holding up a badge and the message: "The website you are visiting has been closed because it has not been filed on record."

The move follows a similar call in a key liberal newspaper being censored by the authorities.