World Reacts to Mob at US Capitol

Leaders around the world expressed shock and concern as a pro-Trump¹ mob attacked and occupied the U.S. Capitol Building, where Congress meets.

The attack took place as lawmakers were counting electoral votes to make President-elect Joe Biden's election win official. The event, which takes place every four years on January 6, is the final step in confirming the winner of a presidential election.

At least four people died in connection with the attack.

The violence forced Congress to suspend its meeting and move lawmakers and others to safety. Those lawmakers included Vice² President Mike Pence, who presides over the count.

Congress confirmed Biden's victory in the early hours of January 7, after the rioters were removed and the Capitol building was secured.

"What happened today in Washington, D.C., is not America," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a video message on Twitter late Wednesday. "We believe in the strength of our democracies. We believe in the strength of American democracy."

German Chancellor³ Angela Merkel partly blamed President Donald Trump for the situation because he has not admitted he lost the election.

"A fundamental rule in democracy is that, after elections, there are winners and losers," Merkel said, adding that both sets have to act responsibly "so that democracy itself remains⁴ the winner."

British Prime Minister Boris called the event "disgraceful." He wrote on Twitter, "The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power."

The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, tweeted: "The democratic process cannot be allowed to be subverted⁵ through unlawful protests."

In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tweeted: "Democracy - the right of people to exercise a vote, have their voice heard and then have that decision upheld peacefully - should never be undone⁶ by a mob."

Countries that often face U.S. criticism over violations⁷ of democratic values also reacted.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said the attack proved the weakness of Western democracy. Iran's pro-government Twitter accounts published images of the mob attack with hashtags that included #DownfalloftheUS.

Images taken from inside the Capitol show the attackers breaking windows, damaging lawmakers' chambers⁸ and offices, and attacking police officers. One attacker was shot inside the Capitol and later died at a local hospital. Three other people died in the attack.

The Capitol Building is an internationally recognized structure and a symbol of American democracy. Violence at the site is extremely rare.

Shariman Lockman is a senior foreign policy and security studies expert with the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Malaysia. He told VOA the riot "doesn't put America in the best light."

"It just compounds negative thoughts that people already have about America," Lockman said. "You know, you can't get COVID right, and you can't get your elections right. You [the U.S. government] keep telling us how to organize ourselves, but you can't organize yourselves right."

In a televised speech Thursday, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said the events at the Capitol were evidence that Western democracy is easily damaged by populism. Rohani added he hoped "the next occupants of the White House" will "restore the country to a position worthy⁹ of the American nation, because the American nation is a great nation."

Words in This Story

disgraceful - adj. related to causing someone to feel ashamed

vital - adj. extremely important

transfer - n. the act or process of giving the property or rights of one person to another person

allow - v. to permit

stability - n. the quality or state of something that is not easily changed or likely to change

compound - v. to make (something, such as an error or problem) worse : to add to (something bad)

negative - adj. harmful or bad : not wanted

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 subverted   

v.颠覆，破坏（政治制度、宗教信仰等）( subvert的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某人）道德败坏或不忠

参考例句：

• Their wills could be subverted only by death. 只有死神才能使他们放弃他们的意志。 来自教父部分
• Indiana State laws deliberately subverted the intent of the constitutions 14th Amendment. 印第安纳州的法律有意歪曲联邦宪法第十四条修正案的愿意。 来自辞典例句

6 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

7 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

8 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。