BEIJING, Jan. 8 -- Chinese citizens and officials 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.

"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.