hem in

中国の北京にある国防省前で、元軍人たちが大規模な抗議デモを行いました。

1,000 protest at China defense ministry

More than 1,000 protesters walked and chanted in front of China’s National Defense Ministry on Tuesday, the latest apparent demonstration by soldiers as the world’s largest standing military modernizes and downsizes.

The protesters stood for several hours in front of the Bayi building in central Beijing, home of the defense ministry. Many wore green fatigues bearing the hammer-and-sickle logo of China’s ruling Communist Party.

The purpose of their demonstration was unclear. Protesters approached by AP declined to be interviewed, and censors blocked searches on social media about retired soldiers or the Chinese defense ministry.

Hundreds of police and plainclothes security officers surrounded the protesters, hemming them in with buses and police vehicles.

While Chinese authorities routinely suppress discussions about the military and soldiers’ issues, one human-rights activist, Huang Qi, said that veterans have staged more than 50 protests this year alone. However, demonstrations on such a large scale are extremely rare in the center of the heavily policed capital.

以下省略

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003277657

今回取り上げる表現は “hem in” です。『ライトハウス英和辞典』でhemの項目を見てみますと、“hem in”で「（動けないように）（…）を取り囲む、閉じ込める、（人）を束縛する」とありました。LDOCEには “hem somebody/something in” で “to surround someone or something closely” または “to make someone feel that they are not free to do what they want to do” と定義されておりました。
今回は “hemming them in with buses and police vehicles” で退役軍人たちが警察車両に取り囲まれている様子を表していると考えられます。

過去にhemを用いた他の表現が取り上げられておりました。（aqua）

hem and haw - 田邉祐司ゼミ 常時英心：言葉の森から
hem and haw - 田邉祐司ゼミ 常時英心：言葉の森から