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Cops fired pepper spray and hauled away about 50 protesters last night as anti- budget demonstrations in Central left two officers injured. The demonstrators were venting their anger at the revised budget proposals and the lack of long-term policies.
Almost 100 protesters stormed the traffic lanes and tramway at the intersection of Des Voeux Road Central and Ice House Street, bringing traffic to a halt. Police fired pepper spray to disperse them but to no avail. At 10pm officers started to carry protesters away to vans before taking them to police stations.

Deputy district commander (Central) Felix Law Cheuk-hung said two officers were injured when protesters pulled down metal barriers. One was struck in the waist and was taken to hospital, while the other suffered cuts.

In the afternoon, demonstrators from all walks of life packed Central despite a decision by Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah to scrap the plan to bolster Mandatory Provident Fund accounts and, instead, hand out HK$6,000 cash to adult permanent residents, plus a 75 percent salaries tax rebate capped at HK$6,000. Chanting slogans such as "Tsang Chun-wah, step down" and "Say no to budget without vision," more than 10,000 protesters - according to the organizers - marched from Chater Garden to the Central Government Offices to slam the budget proposals. "If John Tsang does not further revise his budget, he should be ashamed to stay in office as he no longer has vision and integrity," said lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan, of the Confederation of Trade Unions, which co-organized the protest. The pan-democrats want to see an additional HK$20 billion a year spent in areas such as health care, education and environmental protection. Pan- democratic lawmakers meet Tsang tomorrow to discuss the budget.

Police estimated about 6,300 protesters set off from the Chater Garden and Chater Road area, where a separate group of demonstrators from People Power held a rally yesterday afternoon. Others marched from the Southorn Playground in Wan Chai.

Soon after 5pm, almost 100 protesters - mainly from Post-80s City Boys & Girls and the League of Social Democrats - held sit-ins at the government offices and Queen's Road Central, keeping three traffic lanes closed. Some urged Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and John Tsang to step down. After 22 demonstrators at the CGO were removed or asked to leave around 8.20pm, the protesters joined others on Queen's Road Central. Tension escalated when the groups stormed the intersection of Des Voeux Road Central and Ice House Street.

Earlier, People Power protesters, joined by "Mad Dog" Raymond Wong Yuk-man and Albert Chan Wai-yip, used slippers to strike "villain papers" containing the name of Donald Tsang or John Tsang.