Learning English

Violence on the streets of Hong Kong

An operation to remove illegal food stalls in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong has ended in violence.

In this programme, Neil and Catherine explore the language being used by the world's media to discuss this story. Watch the programme and learn the words and phrases you need to talk about the news. Then see what you've learned with a short quiz.

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The story

From a BBC report on 9th February 2016:

Police in Hong Kong have used batons and pepper spray in clashes with protestors after officers tried to clear street vendors from a road in the Mong Kok area.

The protestors threw bricks and other objects at the police who made 24 arrests.

Police said 48 officers were hurt.

Juliana Liu - BBC News

Unlicensed food vendors are usually prohibited from selling on the street. For years the one exception has been the Chinese New Year when peddlers set up shop on the pedestrian area in the busy commercial district of Mong Kok. Visiting street hawkers for a taste of Hong Kong, including delicacies such as fish balls, is a tradition for many. But this time the authorities decided to clear the vendors – leading to the clashes with political activists who decided to protest against what they call the elimination of a local cultural tradition.

Key words and phrases

batons 
heavy sticks used as weapons by police

clashes 
fights or battles between groups of people

street vendors 
people who sell things in the street rather than in a shop

warning shots 
shot fired by police or army which are not intended to harm people but to show force

crackdown 
strong action taken to stop illegal or bad activity

To do

Try these questions to test your ability to use the words from this News Review.

Your challenge

Which of these is NOT an English phrasal verb?

a) Crack on – continue doing something quickly

b) Crack up – start laughing

c) Crack in – force entry into somewhere

Answer:

c) Crack in – force entry into somewhere

More

Learn more about this story in News Report.

End of Session 2

Join us in Session 3 for Lingohack - our video which teaches you words from the news using the latest BBC World News bulletins.