Hundreds of people gathered at a plaza in Taipei Friday evening for a silent vigil in memory of those killed in the terrorist attack at the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this week.
Organized by the French community in Taiwan, the candle-lit vigil took place at Liberty Square in central Taipei. Participants gathered in silent tribute to the attack victims. Many of them also held up placards with the slogan “Je suis Charlie”, French for “I am Charlie” in a symbolic declaration of their support of freedom of expression.
On Wednesday the attackers opened fire with assault rifles on Charlie Hebdo’s office and exchanged shots with police on the street outside, killing 12 people, including two policemen.
Following Wednesday’s attack, French President François Hollande visited the scene and denounced what he described as an exceptionally barbaric act.