The terrorist attacks in multiple locations in Paris killed 153 people. Chinese people express strong indignation and condemnation towards terrorist acts. Chinese President Xi Jinping immediately sent a message of condolence to French President Hollande saying, "We strongly condemn such barbaric acts".

A couple in Paris [Photo/Agencies]

In contrast to Xi Jinping’s message of condolence, western politicians reacted differently to the violent terrorist incidents taking place in China.

The March 14 Lhasa riots: French politicians were the most heartless!

On March 14, 2008, riots took place in Tibet Autonomous Region orchestrated by the Dalai clique, burning and hacking to death 13 innocent people. Dozens of on-duty police officers were injured. The mob smashed and burned 56 vehicles, there were more than 300 cases of arson, 214 houses and shops burned and more than 840 businesses were damaged.

After the incident, the United States, Britain, Germany, France and other countries, didn’t have the slightest sympathy for the victims, nor express the slightest condemnation against the terrorists.

The then US Democratic presidential candidate Obama: We express concern and condemnation towards the Chinese government’s repression and arresting of demonstrating monks. We urge the Chinese government to respect basic human rights in Tibet and to account for the whereabouts of the detained monks. The then speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi went to visit the Dalai Lama in India shortly afterwards, expressing her support for a non-violent stance and calling for the establishment of an international independent investigation into finding out the truth.

The then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Milliband: We call upon both sides to exercise restraint and continue dialogue.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel: We are very concerned about developments in Tibet. The German Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling for no further escalation of the violence and for a peaceful solution. They also called for China to provide transparency in its handlings of the Tibet incident.

The then French President Sarkozy: We call for China to exercise restraint and to solve the problem through dialogue. He said France is willing to resume talks with the Dalai for Beijing, but would not rule out boycotting the Olympics opening ceremony.

The then Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema: We strongly condemn repression and hope that the authorities can respect the human rights, history and religious freedom of Tibetans.

The then Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt: We condemn the Chinese repression of the riots in Tibet and urge Chinese authorities to "fully respect human rights in Tibet".

The then Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd: We urge the Chinese government to exercise restraint, "it is clear there are human rights abuses in Tibet".

New Zealand Parliament: We strongly support Tibetan people’s rights to peaceful demonstration and urge the Chinese government to react cautiously and carry out meaningful dialogue with Tibetan representatives.

The most heartless of all was Sarkozy: he was the first head of state to mention boycotting the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

During the Lhasa riots, even though perpetrating monks were captured holding sticks, French media still referred to them as "compassionate Buddhists". [Photo/Agencies]

The July 5 riot in Urumqi: western politicians up to old tricks!

Looking back on July 5, 2009, when a group of ethnic separatists led by Rebiya who is on behalf of the "World Uighur Congress" vandalized and burned Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. More than 1,700 people were injured and more than 200 people killed.

The horrifying extent of the incident far exceeded that of the terrorist attacks in Paris, but the reaction of Western politicians was still heartless:

Australia: the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd urged all parties to exercise restraint in order to find a "peaceful solution to this difficult problem".

Canada: the then Foreign Minister said that to address grievances and prevent further deterioration of the situation requires dialogue and goodwill.

France: the then Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed concern about the worsening human rights situation in Xinjiang and said that there may be other European countries concerned about the matter.

Britain: a spokesman for the then Prime Minister Brown said that they are paying close attention and called for dialogue to solve the problem.

Italy: the then President George Napolitano, in light of the incident, put forward the human rights issue to visiting the then Chinese President Hu Jintao, saying "China needs to make progress on human rights".

Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel urged a peaceful solution to the incident and that China should respect the rights of minorities.

As a result, a netizen wrote a post, "mourn the innocent victims in Paris, France", taking the original words of the French government after the July 5 riot in Urumqi and replacing the country name. "I regret the ethnic clashes that took place in Paris. The French government should communicate with the Muslim community by way of dialogue and shouldn’t fight or suppress the peace of Muslim activists! We condemn all acts of violence, but the French government’s systematic persecution of ethnic minorities and brutal suppression of their religion and way of life has led to today’s events."

In 2008, the then minister at the Chinese Embassy in France Qu Xing (R) taking part in a debate on France 2. [Photo/Agencies]

In 2008 when minister Qu Xing on France 2 said, "don’t impose on others what you don’t want imposed on yourself".

The message of condolence highlights China’s position and generosity

Opposing all forms of terrorism has been China’s position all along. In line with France and the international community, strengthening security cooperation, combating terrorism together and safeguarding the security of the people – these are the resolutions and desires expressed in Xi Jinpping’s message of condolence.