Thousands of domestic helpers yesterday prayed for divine intervention to dissuade the government from taxing them or cutting their pay.
Organisers estimated more than 7,000 helpers marched from Victoria Park to pray at a 'sacred assembly' in Chater Garden, Central, but police put the number of demonstrators at 4,600.
They also prayed for Hong Kong and its economy, sang hymns and waved placards that read: 'Levy hurts, love heals, no to levy, no to wage cut.'
Rally organiser Reverend Gerry Vallo, a ministerial pastor of the Jesus is Lord Church, said helpers sympathised with the Hong Kong government's financial woes - but felt the levy proposal was discriminatory.
'It's unfair for these people who are working from 6am to 12 at night,' he said.
The helpers' current minimum wage of $3,670 a month falls well below the taxable threshold for the wider community.
Liberal Party chairman James Tien Pei-chun, who is also an Exco member, has controversially proposed that employers pay a $500-a-month levy and cut their helpers' pay by the same amount. According to Mr Tien, the proposal is backed by the Breakfast Group, the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance and many independent legislators.