Hong Kong: Hong Kong lawyers held a silent march in support of anti-government protesters on Wednesday, highlighting the movement's enduring broad appeal despite increasingly ominous warnings from Beijing. Hundreds of lawyers dressed in black marched under the scorching sun from the city's highest court to the justice secretary's office. The rally came as daily demonstrations have become increasingly violent and China ramped up its warnings to protesters, saying on Tuesday that "those who play with fire will perish by it". The legal professionals -- who usually eschew demonstrations -- have now marched twice since early June. They are backing the protest movement's demand for an independent inquiry into law enforcement tactics but they also said they were marching against politically motivated prosecutions from the city's Department of Justice.

"I really dislike how this government uses scaremongering and divisive tactics," senior counsel Anita Yip told AFP. "They carry out prosecutions selectively... How would people still have confidence in the government?" she added, referring to the perceived different treatment given by police to protesters and their opponents, pro-government thugs with suspected triad links. Hong Kong police have arrested more than 500 protesters and charged dozens with rioting -- which carries a maximum 10 years in jail. But they have so far only arrested 19 men for last month's attacks on democracy protesters that hospitalised 45 people -- and only on the less serious charge of unlawful assembly. Protesters accuse the police of using excessive violence against their movement and turning a blind eye to triad gangs -- accusations the force strongly denies.