Why Can't Use C# Syntax In Inherits Attribute For A Closed Generic But CLR Syntax Is Fine

The following CLR syntax works fine in my aspx page:

<%@ Page Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Views/Shared/Site.Master" Inherits="Website.MyBasePage`1[HomePageViewModel]" %>

But this C# syntax does not:

<%@ Page Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Views/Shared/Site.Master" Inherits="Website.MyBasePage<HomePageViewModel>" %>

Note, I am not using ASP.NET MVC, but this works fine if using System.Web.Mvc.ViewPage<> from ASP.NET MVC.
My MyBasePage looks like this:

public class MyBasePage<TModel> : Page where TModel : class {
public TModel Model
{
get { return (TModel)HttpContext.Current.Items["model"]; }
}
}