Anti-government protests continued for a fourth consecutive day in Hungary's capital Budapest. They were sparked by the parliament's adoption of two controversial laws. The first is the extension of possible overtime work hours, increasing from 250 to 400 hours per year. And the second is the creation of new administrative courts, which protesters are saying would not be impartial. CGTN's Aljosa Milenkovic is in Budapest and has more.

It is Christmas time, but in breathtakingly beautiful Budapest, it is not time for festivities, as thousands took to the streets defying freezing temperatures. This evening they've walked almost 8 kilometers to the national television building to voice their anger about how the television was reporting on the protests.

"In this very moment, Orban's propaganda is lying, paid for by our money. In this very moment, they say about us on TV that we are criminals and hooligans."

Police in full riot gear, with pepper spray canisters attached to their protective armor were deployed to protect the TV station. A few firecrackers were thrown behind police lines, but this evening ended up without clashes, unlike previous days. 

Some opposition MPs were allowed to come close to the TV building, so they could try to give their list of complaints to the television bosses. But there was nobody to listen them. This Sunday's protests started several hours earlier at Heroes Square where people gathered before they started marching towards the parliament. In the crowd, we met Peter Tarkanyi, organizer of the protests.

PETER TARKANYI PROTESTS ORGANIZER "I don't think this government listens to its people and I think this is why some of the protests that we have seen in the past days have been turning violent. People are depressed; people are feeling that their voices are not heard. We expect that if we take it to the streets by tens of thousands and we are peaceful maybe our voices are gonna be heard."

And these people would like their dissatisfaction with the so-called "slave law" to be heard. They think that it serves the interests of the big companies, which will harvest the biggest benefits from extending overtime working hours and also from extending the period for calculating and paying that overtime to workers for three years. 

Protesters are also not happy with the creation of administrative courts which will be controlled by the Justice ministry. Something, they are saying, could put those courts under direct influence of the government. On the other side, the government is dismissing these claims and accusing the opposition for the violent protests.

ISTVAN HOLLIK HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN "Every aspect of street violence is unacceptable. Hungary is a constitutional state which means the law must be obeyed by all. It was apparent that the aggressive political activists who were on the streets yesterday do not respect anybody or anything. They don't respect Christianity, they don't respect the law and they don't respect others."

ALJOSA MILENKOVIC BUDAPEST "The political standoff between the protesters and the government here in Budapest continues. It doesn't seem likely that any side is going to back down and it appears that compromise is not on the table."

Aljosa Milenkovic, CGTN.