Chinese journalists have clashed openly with government censors, as the new political leadership’s unexpectedly tough political stance frustrates hopes for reform.

On Friday the authorities shut the website of Yanhuang Chunqiu, a magazine run by liberal senior members of the ruling Communist party, a day after the magazine published its latest call for political reform. Hours later, 35 journalists formerly affiliated with Southern Weekend, known for its daring investigative reporting, called for the resignation of the party’s chief propaganda official in Guangdong province over what they called “excessive” censorship.

Both media outlets had demanded enforcement of China’s constitution, a document that enshrines many democratic rights but bears little resemblance to political practice in the one-party state. “If we hold our constitution against our reality, we discover a huge gap between the constitution and the behaviour of our government created by the system, the policies and the laws currently in force,” Yanhuang Chunqiu wrote in its December 31 issue. “Our constitution is basically void.”