Chinese media: West facing "payback for colonialism"

Chinese media: West facing "payback for colonialism"

BEIJING -- The religious and cultural tensions the West faces are "payback" for slavery and colonialism, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Tuesday.

The editorial came in the wake of the Islamist attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine, AFP reported.

"Voices say that what Western developed societies have gone through is payback as it is their historical acts of slavery and colonialism which led to their current demographic structures," said the Global times.

The French agency described the newspaper as "close to China's ruling Communist Party," and as "often taking a nationalistic tone."

"When calm is restored, if the magazine holds on to its stance on Islam, it will put the French government in a difficult position and it will become a symbol of a clash of civilisations in Europe. The immigrant issue has bred ultra-extremist right-wingers in Europe, making conflicts largely insolvable," the editorial was quoted.

The paper said that the recent solidarity rally in Paris "can hardly produce significant results despite its impressive scale," adding that it "looked like feeding a seriously ailing person with painkillers."

The official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary on Monday that the incident "should not be simplified as attacks on press freedom, for even the freedom itself has its limits, which does not include insulting, sneering or taunting other people's religion or beliefs," and added:

"It is high time for the Western world to review the root causes of terrorism, as well as the limitation of press freedom, to avoid more violence in the future."

AFP said in its report that China "strictly controls its own domestic media and has...