China mourns Paris terror victims

Chinese government and citizens on Thursday mourned the victims of the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris and denounced terrorism and murder, both on and offline.

President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolences to his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, over the attack.

In the message, Xi expressed deep grief for the loss of lives and extended sincere condolences to the injured and the families of the killed.

Terrorism is a common enemy of all mankind and a common threat to the entire international community, including both China and France, Xi said.

China is firmly opposed to all forms of terrorism, and stands ready to work with France and other countries to boost security and counter-terrorism cooperation so as to safeguard world peace and protect the people of all countries in the world, he added.

On social media, the tragedy drew strong responses from ordinary people though it happened far away from China.

"Mourning for the victims. Respect for life should be the bottom-line of all human beings," posted "Maliaome" on Sina Weibo.

"Paris, France. A bloody scene unfolded in the romantic nation. Pray for the victims! We stand beside Charlie, and we stand beside all the anger and condemnation that every normal person should have towards terror," wrote another Weibo user "Ziyehuadeng."

Many also posted images of candles to show sympathy.

Three heavily armed, masked men stormed the offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in downtown Paris on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people, including the magazine's editor, several celebrated cartoonists and two policemen, and injuring 11 others.

French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday branded the shooting an act of terror.

"We are deeply shocked at the attack and strongly condemn it," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, "We mourn the victims and express our sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured."

China firmly opposes all forms of terrorism and supports French efforts to protect domestic security, Hong added.

China experienced several deadly terrorist attacks in recent years.

Zhang Dexing witnessed the attack in Kunming. He got the news about events in Paris on the Internet. "I saw the reports and thought: such things do not just happen in China," he said.

On March 1, 2014, a group of assailants armed with knives attacked civilians at the railway station in the provincial capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, killing 29 and injuring another 143.

During the Kunming attack, Zhang organized volunteers to use clubs and fire extinguishers to fight the attackers.

"I don't know the victims (of the Paris attack), and I don't know the killers either," Zhang said, "but, when facing terrorists, we must be brave and unite to fight," he said.

"We oppose all kinds terrorism! Disputes can be solved through peaceful means, but never should anyone resort to violence," said a Weibo user "Qianhezijinrong."

"Pray for the victims, cherish peace, oppose terrorism. Paris is, not afraid," wrote an entry by "realips."

Li Wei of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations said that China opposes all forms of terrorism and will work with other countries in respect of the United Nations principles.

"In fighting terrorism, there should be no bias or double standard to differentiate attacks in different countries, or there may be no practical progress in cooperation," he noted.

"Media organizations should beware of making irresponsible statements. However, terrorists using disputes as an excuse for violence is absolutely not justice."