Officers started to remove protesters at the junction of Des Voeux Road Central and Ice House Street at 10.20pm. More than 100 people, including the chairman of the League of Social Democrats, Andrew To Kwan-hang, were put on police buses and taken to North Point police station. Roads reopened at 11.30pm.

Several protesters were injured, including an eight-year-old boy affected by pepper foam. One was admitted to hospital. The deputy commander for Central district, Felix Law Cheuk-hung, said two male officers were injured outside the Central Government Offices, with one of them admitted to hospital.

The pan-democrat political parties, which organised the protest, said more than 10,000 people took part. Police estimated the turnout at 6,300.

The protest came days after Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah revised his budget plan amid a political backlash.

Some protesters called the rally a 'bauhinia revolution', while others called on Tsang to step down. Chanting 'Shame on you, John Tsang', and 'Step down now', the crowds waved placards and banners while marching from Chater Garden to the government's headquarters.

Many demonstrators were unhappy with the hastily revised plan to give HK$6,000 to each Hong Kong permanent resident over 18 years old, saying it was unfair because new migrants were excluded and that the money would be better spent on improving community services.

'It shows that Hong Kong people are not accepting the budget even after HK$6,000 is handed out,' said a leader of the march, unionist legislator Lee Cheuk-yan, who said he was encouraged by the turnout. Lee and colleagues in the pan-democracy camp will meet John Tsang tomorrow.

The atmosphere of the protest turned tense after activists broke through a police cordon at around 9pm to block part of Des Voeux Road Central, forcing traffic to a standstill.

At government headquarters, some activists clashed with police officers as they broke down a barrier and tried to plant jasmine flowers - a gesture of support for the 'jasmine revolution' rallies on the mainland. A stand-off followed and 20 activists, mainly from the League of Social Democrats, demanded a meeting with Tsang. They were carried away by police, leaving jasmine flowers under a tree.

Political analyst Ivan Choi Chi-keung of Chinese University said: 'The government should have learned a lesson that handing out money cannot solve problems. Some long-term policies must be adopted.'

Discontent with the February 23 budget quickly turned into a political crisis, forcing the financial secretary to reverse his avowed 'fiscal prudence' and agree to the HK$6,000 handout and more tax rebates. In a broadcast on RTHK yesterday, John Tsang said a proposal was being considered to help those who were left out of his proposed handout scheme, including new migrants.

'One way to achieve this would be to set aside a specific sum of money to cater to the needs of this sector of our community.' He said the Community Care Fund could be used to help such people. The fund, initiated by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in his policy address last year, aims to support needy people not covered by the social security scheme. Dr Law Chi-kwong, chairman of the fund's executive committee, said he was told of the idea on Saturday and agreed the fund could be a channel.

But fellow committee member and legislator Peter Cheung Kwok-che questioned whether this would be in line with the fund's principles. 'The fund is supposed to help needy people, not an agency to help the government execute its budget measure to give out money.'

In a statement yesterday, the government said: 'Discussions surrounding the budget in the past week have provided us with a valuable learning experience. The government will continue to seek improvements in the administration of livelihood issues.'

Legislators will vote on the budget proposals on April 13.